INTRODUCTION
Quite recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released its Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (Administrative Sanctions) Regulations, 2018 (the “New Regulations”). These regulations were made “pursuant to the requirement of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 35 of effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA)’s recommendation…”[1] in the same vein.
The New Regulations have been made subject to existing Anti- Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Laws and Regulations and focus solely on the administrative sanctions regime for AML/CFT infractions committed by Money Deposit Banks (DMBs) and Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) under CBN’s purview.
The difference of note arising from the New Regulations is that they place much stiffer pecuniary sanctions on banks and other financial institutions and also impose hefty personal liability upon the Directors, Executive and Chief Compliance Officers and other key management staff of these institutions.
In a nutshell, AML/CFT Compliance in Nigeria’s Banking industry can no longer be trifled with as the sanctions for non-compliance have the potential of leaving a significant dent in industry players’ profitability and continued existence.
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Banking and AML White Paper June 2018
[1] See the circular to Banks and Other Financial Institutions from the CBN on the AML/CFT Regulations, dated 9th April, 2018.