Tunisia .. Is cooperation in the field of combating money laundering enough to attract investment?

Amal Hilali - Tunisia

Tunisia has officially left the list of countries that are not cooperating in the field of combating money laundering and financing of terrorism, nearly two years after its inclusion in this list by the Financial Action Group (FATF).

The Financial Analysis Committee of the Central Bank of Tunisia, in a statement published on its official website, confirmed the withdrawal of Tunisia from the list of countries under the control of this group, after a meeting held in Paris a few days ago.

The Paris-based FATF aims to combat money-laundering and review and develop special measures and legislation to curb the financing of terrorism in countries including Tunisia.

During the meeting, the follow-up file on Tunisia's implementation of the action plan adopted in November 2017 was considered to avoid deficiencies in the national AML / CFT system.

A delegation from the FATF visited Tunisia on 16 and 17 September to review the progress of the completed plan to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in order to get out of the list that Tunisia described as "inappropriate classification."

Tunisia out of the list
The Secretary General of the Tunisian Committee for Financial Analysis Lotfi Hachicha in a statement to Al Jazeera Net that the exit of Tunisia from this list confirms the fulfillment of the Government's obligations and commitments to the Financial Working Group, with regard to measures taken to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.

He explained that the inclusion of Tunisia in this negative classification since 2017 was a direct result of the evaluation conducted in February 2015 by the FATF, and was based on the Anti-Money Laundering Law of 2003, which was not then complying with the requirements of the international standard.

He noted that the new law against money laundering and the financing of terrorism was issued only in August 2015, six months after the expiry of the special field visit of the assessment team, and therefore the reforms brought by the new law were not taken into account by followers.

He praised the efforts of the Central Bank, the supervisory authorities of financial institutions, the Presidency of the Government, the National Counter-Terrorism Committee and the National Register of Institutions, as well as the fusion of non-financial professions in the national anti-terrorism and money-laundering system.

He concluded that the concerted efforts of these bodies enabled the completion of the FATF plan within 16 months, which led to the approval of Tunisia's exit from the list of countries subject to the supervision of this international regulatory body.

Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, on his Facebook page, celebrated the decision of the Financial Action Group held in Paris, which led to Tunisia being blacklisted.

Positive indicator
According to expert and financial advisor Nader Haddad, the exit of Tunisia from the list of non-cooperative countries in the field of combating terrorism and money laundering is a positive indicator to boost the climate of foreign investment, through the existence of a legislative arsenal that ensures and controls the integrity of financial transactions, and protects and reassures investors.

Haddad called on the island to the need to redouble the Tunisian government efforts, to avoid the scenario of Tunisia's return to this list again, in view of the catastrophic repercussions on the image abroad, and its direct negative impact on the investment climate.

Insufficient action
In contrast, economist Reza Shikandali believes that Tunisia's exit from this list is not enough to liberalize the FDI climate.

He pointed to the decline in the proportion of domestic investment from 25% before 2011 to 18% in 2019, warning of the repercussions of the social and economic crisis experienced by the country.

He pointed out in a statement to Al Jazeera Net that the state budget for 2019 estimated the growth rate of up to 3.1%, but the latest update from the International Monetary Fund pointed out not to exceed 1.5%.

Shukandali expressed concern that the International Monetary Fund would be reluctant to provide the sixth installment of the $ 2.9 billion loan to Tunisia, in light of the Tunisian government's failure to honor its commitments to reform the economic system and review the wage bloc.

He added that the conditions set by this international financial institution to complete the disbursement of the sixth installment of the loan; the growth rate to 4.5%, and reduce the unemployment rate to 12%, and reach the ceiling of wage mass compared to GDP 12.5%, and all these conditions did not apply.

He concluded by saying that the economic situation in the country today is the worst ever, stressing that the state budget proposed by the government for 2020 will be a vicious circle of debt, which will be financed mainly from external loans to cover the default.