Uganda is reaffirming its commitment to strengthening the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing as regional officials meet in Kigali for the 52nd Task Force of Senior Officials of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG).

The ESAAMLG annual meetings are taking place in Kigali from August 31 to September 5, 2026. The programme includes the 52nd Task Force of Senior Officials meeting, the 26th Council of Ministers meeting and a public-private sector dialogue on anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism.

The meetings bring together senior officials and experts involved in legal, financial and law-enforcement matters to discuss challenges surrounding anti-money laundering (AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) and countering proliferation financing (CPF).

Uganda is participating through its National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Task Force. The Inspectorate of Government is represented by Dr. Ernest Katwesigye, Assistant Director – Asset Recovery, according to information provided by the Inspectorate.

The 2026 meeting is being held under the theme, “From Technical Compliance to Demonstrable Outcomes: Strengthening Effective AML/CFT/CPF Systems in Eastern and Southern Africa.”

The theme reflects the growing emphasis within the global anti-financial-crime framework on whether countries are achieving effective results in addition to having the required laws, regulations and institutions in place.

Uganda's participation comes as the country works to consolidate improvements made to its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework.

Uganda was removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring in February 2024 after the global financial-crime watchdog recognised the country's progress in addressing identified deficiencies. FATF said Uganda would no longer be subject to its increased-monitoring process.

The removal from the FATF list was an important milestone for Uganda, but it did not end the need for continued implementation of AML/CFT measures.

The country's next mutual evaluation will place greater importance on the effectiveness of its systems — including whether laws and institutions produce measurable results in detecting, investigating and prosecuting financial crimes and recovering proceeds of crime.

For the Inspectorate of Government, this means continued attention to areas such as money laundering investigations, prosecutions, asset tracing and asset recovery.

ESAAMLG is part of the FATF global network and works with countries in Eastern and Southern Africa to strengthen measures against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.

The organisation supports implementation of the FATF Standards and provides a regional platform for countries to assess their systems, consider mutual evaluation findings, examine financial-crime typologies and identify technical assistance and training needs.

Its Task Force of Senior Officials also considers technical matters and makes recommendations to the ESAAMLG Council of Ministers.

The 2026 meeting is therefore an important opportunity for member countries to assess progress, share experience and strengthen cooperation against increasingly complex financial-crime threats.

For Uganda, continued engagement in ESAAMLG processes provides an opportunity to demonstrate sustained progress following its 2024 removal from FATF increased monitoring and to strengthen preparations ahead of its next mutual assessment.

The emphasis on demonstrable outcomes also puts greater focus on the practical results of Uganda's AML/CFT system, from identifying suspicious financial activity and investigating money laundering to prosecuting offenders and tracing and recovering assets linked to crime.