Monrovia – The Financial Intelligence Unit of Liberia (FIU) has fined the Afriland Bank the L$250,000 for the violation of section 2.1.2 of the currency transaction reporting regulation.
The FIU fined the bank in keeping with its Act of 2012, specifically section 67.39(n).
According to a release, Afriland was found to be in breach of the regulation for filing currency transaction report far beyond the required statutory period of three days.
Meanwhile, the FIU has admonished the Afriland Bank to put in place mechanism to avoid breach of the regulations on both Suspicious Transaction Reporting (STR) and Currency Transaction Reporting (CTR) by ensuring that its compliance team is provided with all of the support needed to see the bank compliant to Anti-money laundering (AML) and the Counter Terrorist Financing (CFT) regulations in Liberia.
The FIU is, however, admonishing all financial institutions to take their compliance obligation seriously as it will not relent in serving the appropriate sanctions in keeping with law for deterrence against would be violators.
“The FIU believes it is time for the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) and the FIU to start a discussion on a new regulation on the threshold of cash payment over the counter and at Automatic Teller Machine (ATM). The current regime of cash payment over the counter and at ATMs remains a high risk to money laundering and terrorist financing in Liberia,” stated the release.
Meanwhile, Afriland Bank has paid the fine and presented the receipt to the FIU.