The Central Bank of Kenya has welcomed the National Risk Assessment Report on Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing.
The NRA’s primary goal was to identify, comprehend, and evaluate the national and sectoral money laundering (ML) and terrorism financing (TF) risks in Kenya.
The report was carried out by a Taskforce established in 2019 after a consultative procedure involving both the public and private sectors and adhering to international Anti-Money Laundering/Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) standards.
As the Taskforce’s joint secretary with the Financial Reporting Center, CBK was honoured to assist it.
According to the NRA report, Kenya has an institutional and legal framework for AML/CFT that is largely in line with international standards.
The NRA assessed the banking sector as having the highest impact on Kenya’s ML/TF risk profile due to the pivotal role it plays in facilitating payments, trade and investments in Kenya and the region.
CBK as the primary regulator of the sector has worked with other players over the years to strengthen its AML/CFT supervisory and regulatory framework. This includes by issuing Guidance on AML/CFT Institutional Risk Assessment by banks in 2018.
In addition, CBK conducted a demonetization exercise in 2019, of the old generation Ksh.1,000 note to address the grave concerns of illicit financial flows and counterfeits.
“CBK is committed to continue working with the sector and other players in implementing the actions indicated in the Strategy and Action Plan to strengthen the banking sector AML/CFT supervisory and regulatory framework.”
