Absa Bank Suspended From NSE For 7 Days Over Alleged Money Laundering Practices

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has suspended Absa Bank Kenya PLC (Absa Kenya) from Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) for one week effective immediately.

This follows Absa Kenya’s failure to provide information about some specific foreign exchange trades that it conducted in March 2020.

“In investigating these and other earlier transactions it is evident that Absa Kenya did not have satisfactory assurance of the underlying commercial transactions supporting these trades. as is required, nor did the bank ensure the standard checks on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements were applied,” said CBK in a statement.

Read: Peter Ndegwa : Beer Man Who Became First Indigenous Kenyan to Head Safaricom

By Wednesday April 15, 2020, Absa will be required put in place a robust framework that ensures all relevant documents for such foreign exchange transactions are available as required and also ensures the AML/CFT and KYC requirements are adhered to.

The newly rebranded bank will also be required to reverse the market positions that were created as a result of the flagged transactions.

During this time Absa Kenya cannot transact, inter alia, in the interbank foreign exchange market. However, all committed transactions as at April 8, 2020, can be settled.

“Absa Kenya’s acknowledgement of its obligations as an authorised foreign exchange dealer and its commitment to address the underlying issues is noted,” added CBK.

For all the latest technology and business news from Kenya and the world, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.