Spotlight on NPO sector’s risk of being misused by criminals |12 April 2022

Guests and delegates in a souvenir photograph (Photo: Thomas Meriton)

An expert mission from the European Union (EU) is currently in the country conducting Terrorism Financial Risk Assessment of the Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) sector.

The aim of the mission is to find out and to also explain to the sector the threats and risks of terrorist financing in this sector.

The assessment is part of Seychelles’ efforts to be compliant with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), most specifically Recommendation 8, which the country had been ranked as non-compliant. The objective of Recommendation 8 is to ensure NPOs are not misused by terrorist organisations.

As part of the technical assistance and information exchange instrument from the EU commission to Seychelles, Waut Es, senior expert from coordination unit for threat assessment in Belgium and Piotr Przybyiek, chief specialist from the Ministry of Finance, Poland, have been in the country since the last eight days to obtain information on the activities of the NPO sector, including their sizes, relevant features and their likelihood to be used by criminals. They will also assess the measures in place and identify strategies that need to be developed to address the identified risks.

The two experts have already met with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Office of the Registrar (which are dealing with financing of terrorism) and other law enforcement agencies.

Yesterday they met with the civil society in a ‘Risk Assessment of NPO sector in Seychelles’ workshop held at Eden Bleu Hotel, Eden Island, for a dialogue on the matter.

But due to limited space only 20 NGOs were able to assist the session yesterday and 20 others are meeting up with them (EU experts) this morning at the same venue for the same discussion.

Apart from getting the government to enhance its understanding of the NPO sector, in particular its vulnerability terrorism financing risk the workshop is to also allow the participants to discuss and share experience to devise a strategy for strengthening the regulatory and supervisory framework that relates to the NPO sector with the aim of mitigating the potential risk of the sector being misused by criminals for the financing of terrorism activities.

The workshop is jointly organised by the EU and the country’s authorities under the technical assistance and information instrument of the EU commission.

In his opening remark to launch the workshop yesterday, the secretary of state in the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade and also the chairman of the National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), Patrick Payet, stated that the workshop follows the outcome of the country’s first national risk assessment conducted in 2016 and which was followed by the second round of mutual evaluation conducted by the Eastern and Southern Africa anti-money group (ESAAMLG) in 2018, where major deficiencies were identified in both the country’s legal framework and the practical application of the laws.

He noted that the NPO’s participation in the exercise is crucial which will contribute towards the joint efforts to prevent the misuse of the NPO sector.

“The conduct of the risk assessment will not be a one-off exercise, as new threats will continuously emerge over time and for this reason, we will also be receiving the assistance of our two expert facilitators to train a group of people who will be equipped to pass on the knowledge and build a pool of competent individuals who will assist in conducting future risk assessments,” said SS Payet, who noted that it is anticipated that with these efforts, engagement and commitments, the country’s upcoming re-rating will be a favourable one for the recommendation relating to the NPO sector.

On his part, Mr Es said that although the risk of terrorist financing in the country is quite low thanks to the good work of the NPO sector, we are surrounded by countries such as Somalia, Madagascar, Kenya and Tanzania and others who are all of high risk.

“We want to prevent Seychelles from becoming a problem and this is why we are here to share our EU experience and try to prevent in the future this kind of terrorist financing,” Mr Es said.

The director of FIU, Richard Rampal, later stated that through the outcome of the assessment, those NPOs considered as most vulnerable to terrorist financing will not be branded as high risks but instead their activities will be more scrutinised by the FIU as opposed to those considered as medium and low risk.  

The chief executive of the Citizens Engagement Platform Seychelles (Ceps), Alvin Laurence, said that the two workshops are in line with the strategy of the civil society’s platform to create a conducive and favourable environment for the NGOs to exist in legal framework that will allow them to receive funds to sustain themselves.

He noted that as NGOs also get funding from abroad, it is essentially important for the civil society to be well educated on their vulnerabilities to prevent falling to risks of being associated with terrorist financing which will affect the country as a whole.

Patrick Joubert