This archive report was first published on 24 September 2019.
On September 24, 2019, Tanzania's central bank imposed hefty fines on five commercial banks, including Kenyan subsidiaries, for breaching anti-money laundering rules.
The Bank of Tanzania fined the banks a total of over $800,000 for failing to conduct proper customer due diligence and file suspicious transaction reports to the Financial Intelligence Unit.
The Tanzanian subsidiaries of I&M Bank and Equity Bank, both headquartered in Kenya, were among the top five banks fined. I&M Bank received the largest fine of 655 million Tanzanian shillings, followed by Equity Bank with 580 million Tanzanian shillings.
The central bank gave the sanctioned banks three months to implement various anti-money laundering measures, including taking disciplinary action against staff members involved in opening implicated deposit accounts.
Tanzania has tightened regulatory oversight over commercial banks and other financial institutions in recent years, with the central bank revoking the licenses of at least nine banks since 2017.
President John Magufuli has ordered the central bank to take action against failing financial institutions, citing the need to safeguard the stability of the sector.
