FIC flags N$103.8bn in suspicious tax-linked transactions

Patience Makwele

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has flagged transactions worth about N$103.84 billion linked to potential tax-related offences, warning that Namibia’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list must translate into stronger investigations, prosecutions and recovery of criminal proceeds.

The findings were presented in Windhoek on Monday during day one of the two-day national conference on anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism and proliferation financing.

According to the FIC’s inaugural AML/CFT/CPF Financial System Integrity Report 2026, the transactions were identified between 2009 and 2025.

The figure represents the cumulative value of transactions linked to potential tax offences, not confirmed tax evasion or money proven to have been lost by the state.

Namibia was removed from the FATF grey list on 19 June this year after completing an action plan to address weaknesses in its systems for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

Officials at the conference warned that maintaining that progress would require more than meeting international compliance requirements.

FIC general manager for law enforcement and prosecutorial support Gerrit Eiman said the report was intended to help authorities understand the risks facing Namibia’s financial system and identify gaps that still need to be addressed.

“The report is intended to provide a clear picture of the risks facing Namibia’s financial system, while also highlighting the gaps that require attention so that the relevant authorities can take informed and effective action,” he said.

The report recorded 15,226 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) between 2009 and 2025, of which 3,186 were followed by the opening of STR case files.

These figures show the movement from reporting to case-file opening, but do not establish how many matters resulted in prosecution, conviction or recovered assets.

Eiman said the country had made progress in strengthening its framework but could not afford to become complacent following its grey-list exit.

He identified corruption, cybercrime, fraud, trade-based money laundering and the use of virtual assets among the risks requiring continued attention.

“People are doing transactions from our country, in our country, across the border, without things being picked up. Money is leaving our country, so we need to close those gaps,” he said.

The report also found that 81% of surveyed stakeholders identified beneficial ownership verification as a key operational challenge.

Establishing who ultimately owns or controls companies and other legal entities remains important in tracing money that may be concealed through complex corporate structures.

Cyber-enabled fraud and corruption were also identified as significant threats by 92% and 88% of surveyed stakeholders respectively.

These figures reflect respondents’ assessments of risk rather than confirmed counts of criminal cases.

Finance minister Erica Shafuda, whose keynote address was delivered by Salome Idhenga, said financial crime was not simply a compliance matter, but also an economic, governance, national security and development concern.

She warned that criminal proceeds moving through the legitimate economy could undermine public revenue, weaken institutions, damage investor confidence and divert resources from legitimate economic activity.

Shafuda challenged authorities to measure the effectiveness of their response by asking whether significant risks were being identified, useful financial intelligence was being produced, cases were reaching court and criminal assets were being recovered.

“The principle is straightforward. Crime should not pay,” she said.

The minister also warned that authorities must keep pace with digital payments, virtual assets and emerging technologies that create new opportunities for financial crime.

She said resources should follow identified risks and technology should be used to produce measurable outcomes.

ESAAMLG executive secretary Fikile Zitha said Namibia’s removal from the grey list was a significant achievement, but stressed that sustaining it would be the real test.

She called for accurate, verified and accessible beneficial ownership registers, arguing that authorities would struggle to stop financial crime if they could not establish who owned the money.

Zitha also warned against institutions working in isolation and said effective deterrence depended on more than identifying suspicious transactions.

“True deterrence is fully realized when we freeze, seize and return unlawfully gained assets to the legitimate economy,” she said.

“Do not compete but cooperate,” she added, urging competent authorities to strengthen coordination.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Director-General Brian Eiseb, a former FIC director, said Namibia should not wait for external assessments to identify and address weaknesses in its system.

He said the country’s grey-list exit had demonstrated what could be achieved through collaboration, technical work and a shared national effort, but warned that progress could be undermined if institutions returned to working separately.

“The greatest threat to an effective AML/CFT system is not a lack of expertise because we have it and we have demonstrated that we do have the expertise, but rather this complacency, isolation and silo institutional operations,” Eiseb said.

FIC acting director Zenobia Barry urged delegates to turn conference discussions into action, echoing President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s call for implementation.

“Implementation, implementation, implementation is key,” Barry said.

Namibia’s next mutual evaluation is expected in 2030.

The FIC report recommends stronger beneficial ownership verification, improved suspicious transaction reporting, risk-based supervision, greater use of technology and closer cooperation between public institutions and the private sector.

Eiman said the country must now ensure that intelligence collected by the FIC leads to tangible action against criminal networks.

“The core message here is that financial intelligence must increasingly translate into investigation. Conversion of intelligence into evidence. Prosecutions, asset recoveries and disruption of criminal networks,” he said.