State forms anti-money laundering task force
Treasury Cabinet sectretary Njuguna Ndung’u during a past event in Nairobi.
The Treasury has formed a task force to review anti-money laundering policies in the war on dirty cash.
The secretariat of the Task Force on Anti-Money Laundering, Countering Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction will be the Financial Reporting Centre .
The Treasury will chair the task force whose members include the Attorney-General, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the State Departments for Internal Security, Foreign Affairs and Immigration.
Other members include the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Assets Recovery Agency, National Intelligence Service, National Counter Terrorism Centre, Kenya Revenue Authority, Central Bank of Kenya, Capital Markets Authority and Insurance Regulatory Authority.
“The task force shall review existing policies, strategies, and legislations and make appropriate recommendations to the Cabinet secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning on combating money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and proliferation financing,” said Treasury Cabinet secretary Njuguna Ndung’u in a Friday gazette notice.
The task force has been tasked with monitoring implementing Kenya’s national strategy on anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism and countering proliferation financing as well as making policy recommendations on how to combat money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and proliferation financing.
The formation of the task force comes more than a year after Kenya stepped up its war on money laundering through the enactment of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Act 2022.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta in January last year assented to the law changes that designated advocates, notaries, and other independent legal professionals as reporting entities for dirty cash dealings.
This also comes amid increased opposition by cash-intensive businesses and rich individuals over the requirement by banks to report cash transactions of above $10,000 (Sh1.3 million) to authorities.
Legitimate businesses that deal with large amounts of cash argue that this has inconvenienced their transaction, forcing many businesses to resort to keeping their money outside the banking system.
There may, however, be hope for such businesses if Central Bank of Kenya deputy governor Susan Koech follows through on her promise to push for changes to review this limit.
During her vetting in Parliament in February, Dr Koech said the cash transactions reporting limit has been derailing the business activities of many firms and that should she be appointed to her current role, she would push for its review.
