Mozambique targets casinos in wider AML supervision drive
The initiative also covers property, vehicle trading and professional services as Mozambique prepares for its next international assessment.
Key takeaways:
- Mozambique has identified casinos as one of several sectors vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing.
- GIFiM is moving towards risk-based supervision to identify and monitor higher-risk entities.
- A November 2 workshop in Maputo brought together representatives from 22 countries, with FATF and World Bank support.
- Mozambique is preparing for its next FATF assessment in 2030, with preparations expected to begin in 2028.
Mozambique.- Mozambique is stepping up anti-money laundering supervision of casinos and other non-financial sectors as criminal networks seek to exploit vulnerabilities beyond the banking system. The initiative is intended to strengthen the country’s defences against financial crime and protect the progress made since its removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in October 2025.
The sectors identified as vulnerable include casinos, real estate, motor vehicle trading, precious stones and metals, and professional services provided by lawyers, auditors and accountants.
Speaking at the workshop, Mozambique’s Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Albertina Fruquia highlighted the importance of strengthening oversight across these sectors. “Sectors such as real estate, casinos, the trade in precious stones and metals, and the legal services provided by lawyers, auditors and accountants are therefore becoming front lines in our defence strategy,” she said, according to Lusa.
The announcement was made during the opening of a week-long regional workshop on risk-based supervision of designated non-financial activities and professions in Maputo. The event brought together representatives and supervisors from 22 countries in Southern and Eastern Africa, with support from FATF and the World Bank.
The workshop aims to help regulators and supervisors identify higher-risk sectors, services, products, customers and entities, allowing them to concentrate their resources where they are most needed.
The Mozambique Financial Intelligence Office (GIFiM) director of Central Services for Studies and Cooperation Alberto Cangela Júnior said the approach would replace random supervisory checks with assessments focused on identifying higher-risk entities. “Previously, supervision was carried out randomly; now there is a need to conduct a risk assessment and identify the entities that pose a high risk,” he said.
GIFiM already supervises the real estate and motor vehicle buying and selling sectors for anti-money laundering purposes because they do not have their own sector-specific supervisory bodies in this area.
The initiative also follows a GIFiM strategic analysis of Mozambique’s real estate sector, released in October 2026, which identified weaknesses in existing controls. The findings illustrate the oversight challenges facing the authority as it strengthens AML monitoring of vulnerable sectors, including casinos. The analysis found that only 234 of 851 active real estate entities were registered with GIFiM, according to Diário Económico.
GIFiM recommended closer monitoring of transactions, stronger supervision and improved information-sharing between authorities to address vulnerabilities in the real estate sector.
Mozambique is preparing for its next international assessment in 2030, with the preparatory process expected to begin in 2028. Cangela Júnior said the country needed to ensure that the necessary mechanisms were in place ahead of the assessment. “By then, we must have all the mechanisms in place, so that the 2030 assessment can take place with the country achieving a level of compliance and we do not run the risk of returning to the grey list,” he said.
Separately, Mozambique is preparing to introduce a dedicated regulatory framework for online gambling on November 20, 2026. Under the new rules, online casino concessionaires must have at least 26 per cent Mozambican ownership and minimum share capital of 100m meticais (US$1.6m). Licensed platforms must also use .mz domains, process gambling transactions exclusively in meticais and retain relevant data in Mozambique for at least 10 years.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- Why is Mozambique strengthening anti-money laundering supervision of casinos? Mozambique has identified casinos as among the sectors vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing. The initiative aims to strengthen oversight and improve the identification of higher-risk entities.
- Which other sectors are included in Mozambique’s AML supervision drive? The initiative also covers real estate, motor vehicle trading, precious stones and metals, and professional services provided by lawyers, auditors and accountants.
- What is GIFiM’s role in the new supervision approach? The Mozambique Financial Intelligence Office (GIFiM) is promoting risk-based supervision to identify higher-risk entities and move away from random supervisory checks.
- When is Mozambique’s next FATF assessment? Mozambique’s next international assessment is expected in 2030, with preparations due to begin in 2028.
