KAMPALA — Finance Minister Henry Musasizi has called on African countries to strengthen the integrity and security of their financial systems, warning that evolving financial crimes pose growing risks to the continent’s economic transformation.

Musasizi made the remarks on Monday while officially opening the 2nd Africa Financial Intelligence Summit (AFRIS 2026) at Speke Resort Munyonyo Convention Centre in Kampala.

The summit has attracted delegates from 36 countries, bringing together financial intelligence authorities, law enforcement agencies, regulators, forensic investigators and international partners to discuss emerging threats and strengthen cooperation in combating financial crime.

Addressing participants, Musasizi said Africa was at a defining moment as financial crime continues to evolve in scale, speed and sophistication, driven partly by the rapid expansion of digital finance, financial technology, virtual assets and cross-border transactions.

He highlighted Uganda’s progress in strengthening its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework, which contributed to the country's removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

The Minister also commended Uganda’s Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) for becoming the first Financial Intelligence Unit in Africa to attain ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, an internationally recognised standard for information security management.

Looking ahead to Uganda’s 2028 Mutual Evaluation, Musasizi urged continued vigilance against emerging financial risks, particularly those associated with virtual assets, beneficial ownership vulnerabilities, digital financial crime and weaknesses in asset recovery.

He outlined three priority areas for African countries: stronger and real-time cooperation among Financial Intelligence Units, enhanced technological and cyber resilience, and more effective recovery of proceeds of crime.

On technology, he called for investment in advanced capabilities, including artificial intelligence, blockchain analytics, cyber investigations and digital forensics, to strengthen the continent’s capacity to detect and respond to increasingly sophisticated financial crimes.

He further emphasised the importance of ensuring that illicit proceeds are traced, frozen, seized and recovered for the benefit of African economies and their citizens.

Musasizi said Africa must move beyond meeting technical compliance requirements towards building effective, secure and trusted financial systems capable of protecting national resources, strengthening investor confidence and supporting sustainable economic transformation.

“Let this Summit strengthen our institutions, sharpen our intelligence, deepen our cooperation and ensure that Africa’s financial systems increasingly work for Africa’s development,” he said.

He challenged delegates to translate discussions and recommendations from the summit into practical action, stronger partnerships and lasting institutional capacity.

The Minister also thanked the Institute of Forensics for choosing Uganda as the host platform for the gathering, which seeks to strengthen professional capacity and cooperation in tackling financial crime across Africa.

The summit comes as African countries confront growing challenges in monitoring cross-border financial flows, detecting illicit transactions and responding to emerging risks in an increasingly digital financial environment.