Morocco Ranks Among Lowest Money Laundering Risks in MENA, Report Finds

With a score of 4.69 points, Morocco ranks 103rd out of 152 countries evaluated globally. This emerges from the 12th edition of the "Basel Anti-Money Laundering Index 2023". At the MENA regional level, the kingdom ranks 3rd behind Tunisia (a score of 4.59 points), making it one of the countries least exposed to money laundering and terrorist financing risks. Morocco is followed by Bahrain (4.82 points) and Jordan which holds a score of 4.90 points. Algeria did not do better than Morocco. The eastern neighbor is classified among the "high risk" countries with a score of 7.22 points, alongside the United Arab Emirates (5.74) and Saudi Arabia (5.38).

With respective scores of 2.87, 2.96 and 3 points, Iceland, Finland and Estonia form the top 3 countries least exposed to money laundering in the world. Conversely, Haiti (8.24 points), Chad (8.14 points) and Myanmar (8.13 points) are the countries with the greatest risk of money laundering. It should be noted that the global average level of money laundering and terrorist financing risk increased from 5.25 in 2022 to 5.31 in 2023, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing the maximum risk.

To compile its ranking, the Basel Index assesses countries using 18 money laundering and terrorist financing risk indicators, divided into five key areas: the quality of the anti-money laundering framework, the level of corruption and bribery, financial transparency and standards, public transparency and accountability, and legal and political risks.

The Basel Institute also calls on countries to redouble their efforts to understand the constantly evolving risks of financial crimes, particularly with the emergence of new technologies. "Compliance with FATF standards in this area has fallen by 20 percentage points over the past two years," it is specified.