Don’t open floodgates for money laundering – Business Daily
Money laundering concept. PHOTO | POOL
Members of Parliament should approach their push to have the limit of bank withdrawals and deposits subject to customer disclosure rules raised above Sh10 million with caution.
Increasing the threshold might open the floodgates for illicit cash and wanton theft of public funds.
The United States in the past has flagged Kenya as a hotbed of money laundering owing to lax laws and corruption in law enforcement agencies.
Kenyan officials handling money-laundering investigations have been accused of tipping account holders of suspicious transactions to move their assets before raids, hampering the fight against money launderers.
This move might make it easier for criminals to move cash without being flagged.
While it’s partly true that the current threshold of Sh1 million ($10,000) is low and is hurting businesses, lawmakers must clearly spell out how the country will combat terrorism financing and money laundering if the threshold is increased.
Any review of the customer disclosure rules should not be done without strong measures to curb the movement of dirty cash into the country.
