UK lists Ghana as a high risk third country

Ghana has suffered a big reputational blow as she gets listed among a number of countries considered by the United Kingdom as havens for money laundering and terrorist financing.

The consequence of this listing is that transactions by Ghanaians, including Ghanaian businesses, in the UK or with UK businesses would now be subjected to far more rigorous, even intrusive, scrutiny by UK authorities.

This means that going forward, Ghanaians, including Ghanaian businesses, transacting business in the UK or with UK businesses, may likely have to endure additional cost and loss of time.

The listing has been done under The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (High-Risk Countries) Regulations 2021.
UK Statutory Instruments 2021 No. 392 Regulation 2.

In 2020, the European Union’s listing of Ghana as a “high risk third country” came into effect despite assurances from the Ghanaian government that it was assiduously taking steps to avert the listing.

The EU’s revised list of high-risk third countries took effect on 1 October 2020.

On 7 May, 2020, the European Commission (EC) announced a revised list of high-risk third countries to align with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The new third countries listed by the EU have been identified as having strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes