Madagascar is hosting the on-site evaluation mission of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) starting this Monday. Running until July 30, this critical phase will assess the effectiveness of Madagascar's national system for combating money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing. After months of preparation, the focus now shifts to on-the-ground evaluation. This mission is part of the third evaluation cycle for AML/CFT/PF systems, launched in November 2025 using the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) methodology. ESAAMLG experts will examine how reforms implemented in recent years are being effectively applied by relevant institutions. The previous on-site visit in 2018 revealed significant gaps in Madagascar's system, with only 13 of the 40 FATF recommendations deemed compliant or largely compliant. Since then, several reforms have been undertaken to strengthen the legal framework, improve institutional operational capacity, develop international cooperation, and enhance national coordination. These efforts have significantly improved Madagascar's technical compliance, with the country now having 29 of 40 FATF recommendations rated as compliant or largely compliant. Beyond regulatory compliance, the current mission will focus primarily on the real effectiveness of the national system. Evaluators will examine authorities' capacity to prevent, detect, investigate, and prosecute money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing offenses. Cooperation between institutions and results achieved in the eleven immediate outcomes outlined by FATF methodology will also be thoroughly analyzed. The on-site visit concludes July 30, followed by technical phases including draft report preparation, Malagasy authorities' observations, ESAAMLG discussions, before final report adoption expected in August 2027. Concurrently, Madagascar has strengthened its international standing by officially joining the Egmont Group, the global network of financial intelligence units. This membership consolidates SAMIFIN's cooperation capabilities with foreign partners in combating transnational financial crime.