By: David Shoombe
Namibia improved its Basel Anti Money-Laundering Index score to 4.78 in 2025, making it the fifth best-performing country in Africa in terms of lower exposure to money-laundering and financial crime risks.
This was revealed during the launch of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) 2025/2026 Annual Report, the first since the FIC became operationally autonomous from the Bank of Namibia.
Namibia’s risk is considered medium risk, which falls between 4.70 and 6.08. With the country cleared or removed from the greylist this year, the index is also expected to improve in the future.
Risk, as measured by the Basel AML Index, is defined as a country’s vulnerability to money laundering and related financial crimes and its capacity to counter these threats.
The FIC director, Bryan Eiseb, has revealed that the FIC has made significant contributions to the fight against financial crime.
Eiseb highlighted that the Intelligence Centre has provided a total of 482 intelligence reports/disclosures, 142 reactive intelligence, and 240 proactive.
He noted that most of the predicate offenses being committed in the Namibian financial system are mostly corruption, bribery, fraud, and wildlife.
“Intelligence reports predominantly find themselves in the top five predicate offenses in our national risk assessment, which are corruption, bribery, fraud, wildlife crimes, and drug trafficking,” said Eiseb.
As a result, the FIC has assisted in the forfeiture of N$25 million linked to suspected financial crimes, while N$29 million was recovered in taxes.
Eiseb therefore noted the importance of uprooting corruption in Namibia and to leave no stones unturned.
Eiseb also commended the Office of the Prosecutor-General, the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA), the Namibian Police, and other financial sector institutions for their collective efforts, which contributed to Namibia’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) updates of 19 June 2026 showed that the list of grey-listed countries does not include Namibia, after it had addressed all 13 strategic deficiencies in its financial systems, which include money laundering, terrorism, financial crime, and fraud loopholes.
Following Namibia’s grey-listing in 2024, the Financial Intelligence Centre, the Namibian Police, and commercial banks were compelled to address loopholes in the country’s financial system and restore investor confidence.
In June 2025, the European Union Commission placed Namibia among the high-risk jurisdictions, despite its efforts to address various regulatory weaknesses.
Namibia’s removal from the grey list is expected to strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage and enhance its capacity to influence financial risk management and anti-money laundering initiatives, according to the involved institutions.
