Eswatini’s Financial Intelligence Centre (EFIC) has updated its Directives against money laundering and adopted Directive No.2/2026 and Directive No. 3/2026. This was necessitated by the recent updates from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF updated Recommendation 16 to improve transparency of information accompanying cross boarder payments and must be implemented by the end of 2030. Amongst other developments, the new Directives and Resolutions continue to emphasize that countries must prevent NPOs from being misused to fund terrorism, aligning with updated FATF best practices. It also strengthens efforts to prevent non-state actors from accessing financial services for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), particularly in relation to Iran and North Korea. However, being in the monitoring list has negative implications that can hamper the operations of CSOs such as low foreign direct investments and increased transaction costs.
