Kenya has come under close scrutiny for its inadequate measures to prevent the influx of illicit funds, joining 23 other nations on a list referred to as the ‘grey list’.
The county’s system in dealing with money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction has been put in question by an international crime watchdog.
The country has been grey listed after an assessment revealed a deficiency and interventions to address the enhanced monitoring of the country’s financial system by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The grey list refers to countries that have deficiencies in dealing with money laundering and terrorist financing. Moving forward, Kenya will be under increased scrutiny by the FATF, with the country expected to make critical changes to its financial infrastructure to reduce the risk of being a haven for dirty money.
Following the recommendations of FATF’s fifth plenary meeting, Uganda has been taken off the list. However, Kenya has now joined Tanzania and South Sudan on the grey list. Additionally, other African nations listed include Nigeria, South Africa, Mali, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Cameroon.
“The National Treasury is actively engaged in this process and anticipate minimal effects on the country’s financial stability and the cost of conducting business in Kenya, the government will spare no effort in addressing identified deficiencies and working towards a swift exit from the grey list,” said Njuguna Ndungu, Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury, in response to the report
According to Brenda Guchu, Manager, PwC Kenya, being on the grey list sends a message to the global financial system to exercise caution in dealings with the country.
“At this Plenary, the FATF added Kenya and Namibia to the list of jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring,” said the FATF in a statement. The development comes a decade after the FATF removed Kenya from its grey list, to which it had first been added in 2010.
