Kenya Cabinet Approves Stringent Anti-Money Laundering Bill

The Cabinet has given the go-ahead for the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023 to proceed to Parliament for passage.

This is aimed at addressing the deficiencies mentioned in the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group's assessment of Kenya's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations. State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed stated on Friday that if approved, the proposed changes will align Kenya's anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing regulations with international standards. The approval of the bill by the cabinet marks an important step in the direction of fighting money laundering and improving the country's financial integrity.

The Bill reviews laws concerning anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-financing of weapons of mass destruction. It also enlists harsher penalties such as hefty fines and longer jail sentences for those convicted of money laundering offences. The amendments will call for financial institutions and designated non-financial organizations to carry out customer due diligence to identify and confirm their customers.

The risk of anonymous transactions will be reduced and the transparency of financial dealings will be improved thanks to the amendments. The range of activities that are considered money laundering will also be broadened to include money from criminal activities and both domestic and international terrorist financing.

The reporting requirements for mandated entities with regard to suspicious transactions and activities will be reinforced, and they will need to report to the Financial Reporting Centre (FRC). The FRC will then analyse the reports and share the intelligence with the relevant enforcement agencies who will investigate the money laundering and take the necessary action against those responsible.