Outgoing FIA boss tasked to get Uganda off grey list

He said despite his two-term task ending, he has been given a similar role of being an advisor to the Uganda Anti Money Laundering /Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) national task-force.

“We do have a lot of challenges as a country but as far as the field is concerned, the most urgent one is the need to get off the grey-list,” Mr Asubo said.

“I have magnanimously agreed to be given the title. I’m using adviser to the AML/ CFT safety with a specific mandate to ensure that the country gets off the greylist. Once that is done, we would have done our duty. We have a little time between now and 2029 such that when the next assessment is done, we are not worse off as we were when the current assessment was done,” he added.

This publication has learnt that Mr Asubo’s new appointment is for six months. Money laundering and the financing of terrorism are financial crimes.

AML/CFT controls, when effectively implemented, mitigate the adverse effects of criminal economic activity and promote integrity and stability in financial markets.

Uganda was placed on the greylist in 2020, a list that highlights countries that have significant weaknesses in tackling money laundering.

The most significant implication to a country that is greylisted is the reputational damage, as its effectiveness in combatting financial crimes such as corruption and money-laundering as well as terror financing are deemed to be below international standards.

Established in July 2014, the FIA, is a government agency established by the Parliament of Uganda to monitor, investigate, and prevent money laundering in the country.

Further in his remarks, Mr Asubo explained that there were 22 issues that Uganda needed to rectify in  2020 in order to get off the greylist or in default, be blacklisted. He said of the 22 issues, only one is pending.

Daily Monitor understands that the remaining issue is majorly about Uganda putting in place a beneficial owner’s register to deal with the many dormant companies.

This explains the recent deregistration of thousands of such companies for failure to file their annual returns for the past five years by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB).

Mr Alinaffe Kalule, the chairperson of the FIA board, said given the good work ethics of Mr Asubo, they couldn’t just let him go.

Background

Last month, President Museveni appointed Mr Samuel Were Wandera to replace Mr Asubo, whose two terms at the helm of FIA had come to an end.

In his remarks, Mr Wandera highlighted the achievements attained by Mr Asubo and his deputy, Mr Micheal Tukei, who was also retiring.

Under Mr Asubo’s tenure, the FIA has conducted national risk assessments, supported the improvement of AML/CFT legal framework, completed the second round of mutual evaluation, and improved domestic coordination and international cooperation.

“Let me add some personal attributes to my two colleagues. We have had too many enjoyable moments together and equally tough ones. I remember a time when there was a great fear that Uganda was likely to be blacklisted around May 2022 after expiry of the action plan deadlines. The blame game was starting to develop,” Mr Wandera said.

He added: “I had a conversion with the ED (Mr Asubo) and clearly, he was deeply concerned, but very firm that we were to put up a spirited fight. And indeed, the fight has yielded positive results to the extent that Uganda has not been blacklisted.”

Prior to his appointment as the FIA boss, Mr Asubo was the head of legal departement at the Inspectorate of Government.

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