The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) recently released Circular No. 2 of 2019 relating to Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).

The circular details a requirement by the CBK that all commercial banks, microfinance banks and mortgage finance companies provide comprehensive evidence of their compliance with regulations relating to AML/CFT. As part of demonstrating compliance, the financial organisations are required to nominate an independent external third party to review their AML/CFT compliance programmes by 31 May 2019.

The independent reviewer will inspect the banks' due diligence measures, AML/CFT risks, related internal controls and monitoring/reporting systems among others and ultimately deliver detailed findings in a report to the CBK.

The aim of this and other recent CBK instructions is to strengthen the integrity of our country's financial systems.

The A&K Forensics, Investigations & Compliance team is available to assist you to meet the CBK requirements and timelines.

Our practice has the following key distinguishing factors:

  • Experience: Our specialists include certified anti-financial crime specialists (including ACAMS) with more than 50 years' of combined experience in regulatory compliance.
  • All-inclusive capacity: Our team of compliance, technology, investigation and legal experts provide the necessary support to remediate issues, including assisting with potential legal exposure.

Please see our capability statement here and do reach out to us should you wish to discuss further.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.