FATF Status

Angola is no longer on the FATF List of Countries that have been identified as having strategic AML deficiencies

Latest FATF Statement  -  19 February 2016

The FATF welcomes Angola’s significant progress in improving its AML/CFT regime and notes that Angola has established the legal and regulatory framework to meet its commitments in its action plan regarding the strategic deficiencies that the FATF had identified in June 2010 and February 2013. Angola is therefore no longer subject to the FATF’s monitoring process under its on-going global AML/CFT compliance process. Angola will work with ESAAMLG as it continues to address the full range of AML/CFT issues identified in its mutual evaluation report.

Compliance with FATF Recommendations

The last Follow-up Mutual Evaluation Report relating to the implementation of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards in Angola was undertaken in 2023. According to that Evaluation, Angola was deemed Compliant for 7 and Largely Compliant for 15 of the FATF 40 Recommendations. ​It remains Highly effective for 0 and Substantially Effective for 0 of the Effectiveness & Technical Compliance ratings.

US Department of State Money Laundering assessment (INCSR)

Angola was deemed a Jurisdiction of Concern by the US Department of State 2016 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR). Key Findings from the report are as follows: -

Angola is not a regional financial center. It does not produce large quantities of narcotics but continues to be a transit point for drug trafficking, particularly for drugs from Brazil and other parts of South America destined for Europe.  Increasingly, Angola is becoming a destination point as well, with a growing market for illicit drugs.  Angola’s borders are porous and vulnerable to general smuggling and trafficking in small arms, diamonds, humans, fuel, and motor vehicles. Angola has a high rate of U.S. dollar cash flow, although the government has implemented new financial policies to decrease use of all currencies except the Angolan kwanza. According to the Angolan Central Bank approximately $17 billion has left the economy in the last five years alone, an amount significantly above foreign direct investment into the country. The origin of this money is unclear. Additional value is transferred out of the country through abusive trade mis-invoicing. Widespread corruption in government and commerce facilitates money laundering.

Rating                                                                           (100-Good / 0-Bad)

Transparency International Corruption Index                           33

World Governance Indicator – Control of Corruption             31

Corruption remains widespread in Angola due to a lack of checks and balances, insufficient institutional capacity and a culture of impunity. Practices of nepotism, cronyism and patronage pervade procurement rendering the procurement process opaque and corrupt. The oil and mining sector in Angola are considered especially high risk areas for corruption. Clientelistic networks generally govern the way business is conducted in Angola with many Angolan companies functioning as front organizations for government officials whose integrity and accountability are frequently questioned by observers. Active and passive bribery, illicit enrichment and conflict of interest are criminalized by the Probity Law, but offences are rarely prosecuted. Gifts and facilitation payments are a common part of doing business in Angola. For further information - GAN Integrity Business Anti-Corruption Portal

In 2023, Angola is set to solidify its spot as one of sub-Saharan Africa’s five largest economies, driven by higher oil prices and a growing non-oil sector, according to the IMF’s outlook. Positive economic momentum took hold in 2022, with the economy growing by 2.6 percent after ending a five-year recession with 0.7 percent growth in 2021. The economy is expected to grow 3.2 percent in 2023, alongside annual population growth of 3.3 percent. In May 2022 Angola briefly moved into the position of Africa’s top oil producer for the first time in over five years; the country currently stands as the continent’s fourth largest producer of crude oil. Angola is also a significant producer of rough diamonds, has reserves of more than 50 critical minerals, and is expanding the Lobito Corridor rail network as an outlet to link DRC mineral exports to the Atlantic. Angola joined the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in June 2022 to increase transparency in the oil, gas, and mineral resource sectors. The United Nations announced Angola will graduate from the Least Developed Countries category in February 2024.

Despite its reputation as a challenging place to do business, Angola is seeking to improve its investment climate and improve in the areas of anti-corruption, democracy, governance, and human rights. Angola improved 20 places in the 2022 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 116 out of 180 countries. The country also signed a first of its kind Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (SIFA)  with the EU in November 2022, which aims to help simplify processes, increase transparency, and integrate labor and environmental standards into the bilateral agreement. However, a slow and opaque judicial system discourages investment and at times limits the efficiency of contract enforcement. Similarly, the perception of and incidence of corruption remain a concern for investors, particularly in the non-extractives sector.

The past year saw Angola experience a year-on-year increase in foreign direct investment inflows of $3.8 billion as of January 2023, according to Angola’s Private Investment and Export Promotion Agency (AIPEX), attributed to efforts in improving regulations, broader economic reforms, improvements in information communication and technology, and infrastructure. AIPEX registered investment from the United States increased by $1.2 billion in the same period. Angola is also receiving a high level of interest as an investment destination from investors from across the globe. Angola was selected by the World Bank as one of the countries to have its business and investment climate assessed under its new flagship, Business Ready  project. On issues of environment sustainability, Angola has set ambitious targets to diversify energy production, including plans to generate 77 percent of Angola’s installed power supply from clean sources by 2025. As a result of substantial government investment, the country stands to become host to sub-Saharan Africa’s largest solar power generation capacity as a result of solar investments, led by U.S. firm SunAfrica.

Angola has not faced significant food insecurity or supply chain disruptions as a result of Russian aggression in Ukraine. The country has relied on its strategic food reserve to help stabilize the cost of key commodities, and inflation fell to 10.8 percent in March 2023 after reaching 27 percent in March 2022. The government increased its stake in the Catoca diamond mine to 59 percent after acquiring the shares linked to corrupt former officials but did not impact the 41 percent stake held by Russian state-owned company Alrosa.

Country Links

Unidade de Informação Financeira (UIF-Angola)

Banco Nacional de Angola

Government of Angola - Business Registry

Supreme Tribunal of Angola Court Registry