Central Bank Imposes Penalties on 5 Banks in Tanzania over Money Laundering
The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has imposed monetary penalties to 5 banks for breach of regulations 17, 22 and 28 of the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, 2012 for failure to conduct proper customer due diligence and file suspicious transaction reports to Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). According to the statement issued by BoT on 19 September, 2019 the 5 banks and respective penalties are:
- African Banking Corporation (T) Limited -TZS 145 million
- Equity Bank (Tanzania) Limited -TZS 580 million
- I&M Bank (T) Limited -TZS 655 million
- UBL Bank (T) Limited -TZS 325 million
- Habib African Bank Limited -TZS 175 million
In additional to the penalties, the banks have been directed to implement the followings corrective measures within 3 months from the date the penalties were imposed:-
- Make a fresh review of all Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance status and ensure that proper documentations are in place;
- Report suspicious transactions which were ought to be reported to FIU;
- Make an assessment of adequacy of internal controls and take necessary measures to ensure controls are robust to deter noted weaknesses; and
Take disciplinary measures to all staff who were involved in opening of implicated accounts contrary to KYC requirements.
Download PUBLIC NOTICE -Penalties on Banks over Money Laundering
