ACAMS East Africa Chapter drives collaboration in the fight against regional financial crime

By Edlyn Cardoza

ACAMS, one of the leading membership organisations dedicated to fighting financial crime globally, aims at illicit actors in Africa with a new chapter co-located in Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Launched on December 7^th, the ACAMS East Africa Chapter provides a platform for the education and professional development of AFC and sanctions compliance practitioners. It aims to drive collaboration among private-sector institutions, regulatory bodies, law enforcement agencies, and other organisations engaged in combatting illicit finance.

To mark the launch, the chapter hosted its first event virtually with a keynote address by Joseph Jagada, Principal Expert for the Eastern and South African Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG). The event included panel discussions on the potential impact of climate change on financial-crime risks, the compliance implications of the FTX collapse, the emergence of cybercrime as a predicate offense to money laundering, and professional-development guidance linked to Big Data, virtual assets, and other technologies.

As the 63^rd chapter in the organisation’s global network and the second on the African continent, the East Africa Chapter welcomes professionals from all segments of the AFC space, including banks, mobile payment providers, FinTech businesses, insurance companies, consultancies, law firms, cryptoasset issuers, regulatory bodies, law enforcement agencies, and other entities exposed to illicit-finance risks.

“ACAMS Chapters are a testament to the simple truth that financial institutions and governments are most effective at fighting illicit finance when they collaborate and communicate with one another,” said Scott Liles, CEO of ACAMS. “Through the ACAMS East Africa Chapter, AFC professionals now have a network of peers that can work together in identifying and reporting money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, and other illicit activity in the region.”

“Chapter members can build on their compliance knowledge to better mitigate their institutional risks, protect those vulnerable individuals who have fallen victim to criminal groups, and ultimately save lives,”  Liles continued.