The Finance Action Task Force (FATF), which serves as the global anti-money laundering watchdog has once again put Kenya in the grey list for not having safe measures on the flow of dirty cash in the country.
The grey list, officially known as Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring, refers to countries that have deficiencies in dealing with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing.
Countries on the grey list are potential victims of economic sanctions from institutions such as the international monetary fund (IMF), the World Bank and experience adverse effects on trade. Kenya which is currently struggling with its economic status will be subject to the shortcomings of being grey listed especially in financial aids, as the global financiers are wary of associating money dealings with them.
The national treasury in a statement by the cabinet secretary professor Njuguna Ndung’u assured Kenyans that amendments have already been made to laws against money laundering and terrorism financing including the (AML/CFT) Act, 2023.
Kenya will be under increased supervision by the finance action task force, with expectations of changing its financial infrastructure to reduce the risk of being a harbor for dirty money.
Kenya was last added on the FATF grey list in the year 2010 as a result of critical delays in deploying laws to stop criminal financing activities and failure to track money laundering. They were subsequently removed in 2014 after enforcing new laws to identify terrorist financing and installing efficient financial intelligence.
KENYA ON FATF MONEY LAUNDERING “GREY LIST”