The United Kingdom has supported Kenya’s efforts to tackle the burgeoning ‘wash wash’ cartels.In a statement posted on X, the British High Commission in Kenya revealed measures to assist the country in exiting the feared international financial grey list.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) manages the grey list, which puts the country under the spotlight.
Kenya was placed on the grey list in February of this year due to shortcomings in countering money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation finance.
The FATF is the international watchdog for anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing regulations.
The task force assessed Kenya’s adherence to worldwide standards and guidelines for combatting money laundering and related financial crimes and discovered compliance flaws, resulting in its graylisting.
Money laundering, also known as ‘wash wash,’ is a major challenge.
The Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) stated that Kenya received a suspicious Ksh 72.2 billion in cash throughout the four years running up to 2021, with the sources of this money not fully explained.
The group oversees the region’s compliance with worldwide anti-money laundering regulations.
On Friday, November 29, the United Kingdom announced that it will continue to give technical assistance and engage with Kenya to implement FATF Standards and boost economic growth.
“Tackling money laundering and terrorism finance is vital to safeguard democracy and support economic growth. The UK is delivering on promises to provide Kenya with technical assistance and collaborate to implement FATF Standards,” the statement revealed.
This comes after Kenya requested technical assistance help from foreign partners such as the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US), to create skills for capacity-diverse activities and instruments in this dynamic environment.
“Collaboration and technical assistance from these partners will be crucial in our efforts to enhance our AML/CFT/CPF framework, strengthen our regulatory institutions, and expedite our exit from the grey list,” the former Treasury CS, Njuguna Ndung’u, said in February 2024, when Kenya was listed.
On Wednesday, November 28, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime East Africa began a UK-funded effort to enhance Kenya’s AML/CFT Framework, with the goal of assisting Kenya’s removal from the list.
“Launch of the UK-funded project to strengthen Kenya’s AML/CFT Framework and help the country to exit the FATF grey list,” UNODC wrote.
Kenya’s grey listing was caused in part by a failure to prosecute money laundering and terrorism funding offenses, as well as a lack of laws for cryptocurrencies and charitable organizations.In addition, there is a lack of a strong risk-based strategy for anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing.
Kenya joined Tanzania, South Sudan, Nigeria, South Africa, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon on the list.
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