Angola’s National Bank (BNA) and the Ministry of Interior have signed a cooperation protocol in Luanda committing both institutions to coordinated action against illicit financial activity — including counterfeiting, financial fraud, cybercrime and money laundering — at a moment when digital security vulnerabilities in the country’s financial system are under growing scrutiny.
The agreement was signed on Monday by BNA Governor Manuel Tiago Dias and Interior Minister Manuel Homem. Beyond tackling financial crime, the protocol establishes an institutional collaboration framework to promote financial education, inclusion and literacy among Interior Ministry (MININT) personnel.
Governor Dias described the accord as an expression of the central bank’s commitment to stability, security and public confidence in the national financial system. He outlined two strategic pillars: first, promoting financial education and literacy among MININT staff; and second, preventing, combating and suppressing illicit financial activity.
Under the first pillar, Dias said, the BNA will develop training, capacity-building and awareness programmes aimed at improving personal and family financial management, encouraging the safe use of financial products and services, and expanding access to payment instruments, with particular emphasis on mobile payments.
‘We consider financial literacy an essential instrument of economic citizenship. Better-informed citizens make more conscious financial decisions, protect their resources more effectively, reduce their exposure to fraud and contribute to a stronger, more inclusive and more trustworthy financial system,’ Dias said.
On the second pillar — the prevention and suppression of illicit financial activity — Dias stressed that such practices ‘undermine the integrity of the financial system and the economic security of our country.’ He said the cooperation framework would strengthen the state’s capacity to respond to phenomena including counterfeiting of the national currency, fraudulent and pyramid schemes, cybercrime affecting the financial system, illegal foreign-exchange operations, money laundering, terrorist financing and other practices that harm citizens and the broader economy.
The signing comes days after a cyberattack on Unitel — Angola’s largest telecommunications operator — left millions of customers without access to voice, data and SMS services for several days, directly disrupting bank authentication mechanisms and forcing the General Tax Administration (AGT) to extend tax deadlines. That episode intensified public debate about the need to strengthen cybersecurity across the national financial system and to create more effective response channels linking banks, telecoms operators, regulators and security forces — precisely the logic of institutional cooperation that the BNA-MININT protocol now seeks to formalise.
Interior Minister Manuel Homem underscored the ‘strategic importance’ of the protocol, saying it deepens cooperation between the two institutions and strengthens citizens’ trust in public bodies. He also expressed confidence that the agreement contains the mechanisms and guidelines needed to promote financial literacy and inclusion not only among MININT personnel but across the Angolan population as a whole.
‘In the area of preventing and combating unauthorised financial activity, we are equally convinced that training initiatives, the exchange of experience and the sharing of best practices will contribute significantly to the improvement of investigative methods,’ Homem said.
The Interior Minister argued that preventing and combating financial crime ‘is not solely the responsibility of the BNA, but a collective responsibility and a strategic priority for any state seeking to ensure the stability of its financial system.’
The protocol adds to a series of similar agreements the BNA has concluded with various public entities in recent years as part of its broader financial literacy and inclusion strategy. These include a previously signed accord with the Ministry of Territorial Administration, also focused on training local officials in financial education.
Taken together, the agreements reinforce the central bank’s role as coordinator of an expanding network of public institutions involved in defending the stability and integrity of Angola’s national financial system.
Source: Mercado / Original article: https://mercado.co.ao/bna-e-ministerio-do-interior-assinam-protocolo-para-combater-crimes-financeiros-e-reforcar-literacia-dos-efectivos-policiais/
