In late 2015, AML Solutions International, conducted a Basic Tactical and Strategic Analysis Training Workshop for Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) Analysts of Member States under the umbrella of the Governance, Peace and Security Section, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa(COMESA), and the Regional Maritime Security Programme (MASE). The Workshop was conducted at the Protea Hotel, Livingstone, Zambia.
A high level regional Ministerial Meeting on Piracy was held on 7 October 2010 in Mauritius and adopted the ESA-IO Regional Strategy and Action Plan against Piracy and for Promoting Maritime Security. In line with the Action Plan, COMESA, the East African Community (EAC) and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Indian Ocean Community (IOC) under the initiation of the Inter Regional Coordination Committee (IRCC), created a common Eastern and Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region (ESA-IO) regional program to support maritime security.
The COMESA component in this regional programme sought to strengthen regional capacity to disrupt the financial networks of pirate leaders and their financiers while also addressing the structural vulnerability factors and minimize the economic impact of piracy. COMESA would initially focus on ten ESA countries that are signatories of the Djibouti Code of Conduct as its core countries but it shall also give secondary attention to other neighboring countries to prevent money laundering shifting their activities especially the less regulated jurisdictions as found in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) list of countries that have deficiencies with respect to compliance with FATF standards.
Member countries of the ESA countries that attended the workshop included Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia; and Tanzania.
Feedback from the participants and organisers was very positive and provided a path to move forward within this arena.
