When Your Country Is On The Grey Or Black Lists

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I suppose it could be worse if you are a country on the black list as doing any type of business abroad would be impossible.

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I had not paid too much attention to the Financial Action Task Force which is a global task force tackling, money laundering, terrorism financing and those funding weapons of mass destruction. The task force monitors countries making sure countries are taking action regulating what is happening within their own borders. Who would have thought this would affect me and many others who are innocent parties caught up in stricter regulations. This is all fairly new and I for one never expected this would affect myself because I am squeaky clean and no crook.

When I was in Dubai recently to open a bank account which I was assured was straight forward without any complications. This would have been the case if I was not living in South Africa who are on the grey list. According to the bank the risks to register a new account to myself are too high as there is so much extra regulation and is not straight forward.

This is why opening a new account I would have to make it worth their while through depositing a large amount $500K or an insurance policy which would cover their costs. I eventually negotiated them down to $60K and believe I could get them down to $30K if given more time. Dubai is still my first choice and will be back soon enough to get this sorted.

Looking at the list of countries being heavily monitored you do get an idea how low South Africa has sunk and the problems they have.

Algeria, Angola, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (UK) and Yemen.

Looking through the list of the usual suspects the only country that sticks out in my mind is Monaco. Apparently Monaco has had problems with money laundering and terrorism funding which may be more to do with Monaco being a tax free haven. You would think having the record for the most millionaires per square kilometer they would be more careful.

South Africa however I do believe should be on this list even though it makes life harder for myself. A country having "friends" such as Iran and Yemen and God knows who else would raise serious concerns and red flags. It would not surprise anyone if there were terrorist training camps within SA's borders. One was apparently shut down a few years ago and very little was said which tells you all you need to know. Passports are obtainable from Home Affairs if you have enough money as corruption is rife throughout the country. There is nothing you cannot buy here if you have the funds which is a big problem. One has to just drive on the roads to realize the majority of drivers bought their licenses.

I was chatting with my business partner on Friday night with regard to the problems of opening an off shore bank account. He had told me a few weeks ago he had applied for a bank account in Mauritius whilst on holiday and found the process very difficult. He has the finances and thinks it could take him as long as 6 months to be officially accepted. The crazy part is South Africans are the largest provider to the Mauritius GDP through tourism. South Africa is just in a bad place right now with a poor standing internationally.

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