Liberia: FIA Slaps Lonestar Cell MTN Mobile Money with L$25 Million Fine for Anti-Money Laundering Violations

Monrovia – The Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) of Liberia has imposed a hefty fine of L$25,000,000 on Lonestar Cell MTN Mobile Money, Inc. (LCMMMI) for repeated failures to comply with Liberia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations.

According to the FIA, the decision followed a risk-based inspection conducted from September 2 to 16, 2024, which uncovered serious lapses in LCMMMI’s AML/CFT compliance framework. Chief among the violations was the company’s continued failure to establish an independent board of directors separate from its parent company, Lonestar Cell MTN GSM Inc., a requirement outlined in Section 6, Paragraph 5 of the Central Bank of Liberia’s Mobile Money Regulation No. CBL/RSD/003/2014.

“This is a longstanding violation that was already cited by the Central Bank of Liberia during its December 2018 Joint Digital Financial Services and AML/CFT Risk-based Examination Report,” the FIA stated. “It is troubling and risky that LCMMMI has not taken corrective measures to address this governance issue for nearly six years.”

In addition to the governance shortcoming, the FIA cited several other infractions, including:

• Negligent agent vetting: LCMMMI failed to conduct due diligence and suitability assessments of its agents. This lapse allowed fraudulent operators like Smart AI to exploit the platform in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of Liberians in 2023.
• Unauthorized transaction thresholds: The company allegedly granted unlimited transaction capabilities to full agents and merchants without securing prior approval from the Central Bank of Liberia, violating Section 15, Paragraph 4 of the Mobile Money Regulations.
• Failure to monitor transactions: The company failed to monitor high-value transactions at the agent level and neglected to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs), breaching Section 15.3.21 of the AML/CFT Act of 2021.
• Inadequate risk assessment: LCMMMI reportedly failed to assess and monitor its exposure to money laundering risks, including those tied to legacy customers, services, and geographical areas—violations of Sections 15.3.1 and 15.3.10 of the AML/CFT Act, and Section 2.9 of the AML/CFT Regulations for Financial Institutions.

The FIA has ordered LCMMMI to immediately deposit the L$25 million fine into a designated Liberian government escrow account. The Agency also warned that further supervisory actions may follow if the mobile money provider fails to demonstrate full compliance with Liberia’s AML/CFT regulatory framework.

The fine and warning come as part of a broader effort by the Liberian government to strengthen financial oversight and crack down on systemic weaknesses in digital financial services.