Ken Ofori-Atta reacts to EU blacklist of Ghana

Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s Minister for Finance says the choice by the European Union to add Ghana to the “boycotted nations for resistance with illegal tax avoidance rules” resembles “a heavy hammer tossed at us”.

He offered these comments when he met the European Union Ambassador to Ghana to consent to an arrangement for nearly 87 million Euros budgetary help named as a “Covid reaction”.

Ofori-Atta stated: “As you probably are aware, the EU put us on the dark finish of the boycott due to our conversations with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). That is very weakening thus we are confident to be off the rundown in December and that the EU will likewise quickly remove us from that.”

He proceeded: “It some of the time looked very incongruent. At the point when we see issues, for example, HSBC Bank directly at your entryway and afterward we feel like a heavy hammer is being tossed at us for an occasion that has not happened however in readiness, we are moving forcefully to get that and we’ll look for your help when we get off the FAFT list, that the EU responds rapidly.”

Ghana has been put on top notch of nations under the watch of the EU for certain illegal tax avoidance exercises because of a perception by the FATF, the Inter-government association perceived by the World Bank and IMF for founding strategies pointed toward fighting tax evasion and psychological oppression.

The EU on May 7, 2020, proposed to the European Parliament to remember Ghana among 11 different nations for the illegal tax avoidance boycotted nations, hence putting monetary exchanges under more prominent investigation.

The 12 nations which were consequently restricted viable this October are Ghana, Botswana, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Cambodia, Mongolia and Myanmar.

However, Ghana’s Ministry of Finance in an announcement reacted that the EU’s move doesn’t reflect precisely the current status of Ghana’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (AML/CFT) systems.

“This is terrible, and the Government of Ghana is consistently prepared to draw in with the EC [European Commission] about the genuine status of the nation’s AML/CFT system and endeavors being made to fortify same,” the announcement read.