Namibia’s greylisting leaves GIPF unscathed

The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) says it is business as usual on its end despite the greylisting of Namibia by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), with its offshore investments still intact.

Namibia was officially greylisted on 23 February, a move signalling heightened scrutiny over the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures.

This designation highlights significant deficiencies in Namibia's compliance with international standards, potentially jeopardising foreign direct investment and trade, Financial Intelligence Centre director Bryan Eiseb explained.

Despite addressing 59 out of 72 recommended actions, the country faces ongoing challenges that could impact its economic stability and international reputation.



Added scrutiny

The greylisting meant more scrutiny for the fund, GIPF noted. “For the fund’s existing offshore investments, it is business as usual, but this is coupled with increased requirements for due diligence processes when additional investments are made or when withdrawals are effected,” it said in an emailed response to questions from Market Watch.

“For new offshore investments, the GIPF finds that it is now subjected to additional due diligence processes, as well as not merely accepting copies of documents certified by police for instance, but now requiring that these be certified by a notary,” it added.

The GIPF would not mention to what extent its offshore investments had been affected as a consequence of the greylisting. “The value of the offshore investments are determined by the economic fundamentals of the instruments the fund is invested in, and not the fact that the country is now greylisted. So, it has not had a valuation impact,” it said.



Big brother PIC suffers

Meanwhile, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has felt the sting of South Africa being greylisted for nearly two years, with the state-owned asset manager saying it is subject to greater scrutiny, which has made doing business and transactions outside of the country more difficult.

“Since the FATF greylisted the country in February 2023, concluding transactions outside the country has proved challenging. The PIC is now subject to greater scrutiny and enhanced monitoring by its international counterparts,” its chief investment officer Kabelo Rikhotso said in the company’s 2024 annual report.



- Additional reporting by Daily Maverick