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EAC member states to enact strong anti-money laundering Acts
2005-09-02 08:17:58
By Sihle Mavuso
East African Community member states have embarked on a serious exercise to enact strong Anti-Money Laundering Acts.
The decision was made during a meeting of Sectoral Ministerial Council on Trade, Finance and Investment, which was held in Arusha on Tuesday.
The meeting was told that draft Bill to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act, 1991 was in place in Tanzania.
The amendments give a comprehensive coverage on anti - money laundering practices including the establishment of a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
The meeting was told that the Ministry of Finance was finalising the draft Bill after incorporating stakeholders’ inputs.
Meanwhile the Directorate of Banking Supervision of the Bank of Tanzania started incorporating financial markets departments into anti-money laundering (AML) programmes last November.
In Uganda, the drafting of the anti-money laundering law was completed last year.
The Cabinet approved the Bill on 27 January this year and will soon be tabled in Parliament.
In Kenya, the Cabinet approved the draft of the Anti-Money Laundering Bill last January to facilitate commencement of the parliamentary debate.
An IMF-sponsored sensitization workshop has been proposed to enhance stakeholder awareness before the debate in Parliament.
The meeting urged the EAC partner states to expedite the enactment of the Anti-Money Laundering legislation.
In Uganda, the Capital Markets Authority is taking the lead in working out the policy framework for consolidated financial service regulation.
In the meantime, domestic regulators in Uganda continue to share information and are in the process of formalizing the forum.
The Bank of Uganda (BOU) is currently sharing information with other institutions such as the Association of Micro-finance Institutions of Uganda (AMFIU) and the Uganda Bankers’ Association.
In Tanzania, the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) had a meeting with domestic regulators such as the Capital Market Securities Authority, the Insurance Supervisory Department and the Gaming Board of Tanzania last February.
The meeting recommended two levels of co-operation. One was the technical level and the second was the policy forum.
A task force was formed to draw up a policy paper on areas of co-operation, for consideration at a higher level.
In Kenya, the domestic regulators’ forum initiated a study on the viability of a financial service authority in late 2003 and a meeting of the forum is planned.
The Sectoral Ministerial Council has urged EAC Partner States to share the findings of their studies to determine the feasibility of having a single regulatory framework, an EAC Secretariat statement says.
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