ARINSA NEWS
South Africa’s money laundering watchdog names and shames
South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has slammed legal practitioners, estate agents, trust service providers, company service providers, and various other sectors for keeping the country on the grey list.
These sectors have yet to complete risk and compliance return (RCR) submissions as instructed by the FIC, which were due on 31 May 2023. The FIC warned that these sectors are at risk of administrative sanctions.
“Certain designated non-financial businesses and professions are continuing to ignore Financial Intelligence Centre directives aimed at helping South Africa exit the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force,” the FIC says. Read More...
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Mozambique: Corruption cost state €5.8 million in the first half of 2024
By Staff Reporter I 12 July 2024, Club of MozambiqueAccording to figures from the Central Office for Combating Corruption (GCCC), the Mozambican state suffered losses of around 405 million meticais (€5.8 million) due to corruption offences in the first half of this year.
The figure is an increase on the same period in 2023, when losses totalling 183.3 million meticais (€2.6 million) were recorded, according to the GCCC, an agency of the Mozambican Public Prosecutor’s Office.
In the first six months of this year, the Mozambican authorities seized assets valued at €589,000 resulting from acts of corruption. Read More...
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Money laundering cases too slow- CJ
By Bame Piet | 9 July 2024, The Voice BW
Chief Justice Terrence Rannowane has lamented the sluggish pace at which money laundering cases are being prosecuted in the country describing them as stagnant.When addressing participants at a two-day colloquium for officers of the Administration of Justice on Monday, the Chief Justice highlighted the findings of the 2017 Mutual Evaluation Report, which revealed that the courts have concluded a few cases of money laundering, with only four convictions. Read More...
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By NOKUNCEDA MAGAGULA | June 18 2024, Eswatini Obsever
The national budget is anticipated to receive a significant boost as assets forfeited by the state from money laundering activities will be injected into the national budget. Read More...
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UNODC and ARINSA Strengthen Namibia’s Anti-Money Laundering Efforts with Crucial Workshops
By Staff Reporter | June 10 2024, UNODC Website
From June 10-13, 2024, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in collaboration with the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa and the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of Southern Africa (ARINSA), organized two important workshops in Windhoek, Namibia. These workshops aimed to enhance Namibia’s ability to recover proceeds of crime and improve the skills of 27 legal practitioners and 20 investigators. Read More...___________________________________
Businessman who laundered over R3 million from government department sentenced
By Robin-Lee Francke | Jun 21, 2024 IOLA Free State businessman has been sentenced in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on money laundering charges. Read More...
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UNODC and ARINSA Host Workshops for Prosecutors and Investigators in The Seychelles
By Staff Writer 13 June 2024 | UNODC Website
In an effort to strengthen The Seychelles' ability to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa as the joint secretariat of the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of Southern Africa (ARINSA) organized two workshops: one for prosecutors and another for investigators. The workshops, which took place from 3-6 June 2024, aimed to build the capacity of investigators and prosecutors in applying effective asset confiscation methodologies and practices.
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More suspects linked to R2.8bn Ponzi scheme arrested
By Staff Reporter | 3 June 2024 Sunday World
The long arm of the law has finally caught up with two more suspects implicated in the R2.8-billion BHI Ponzi scheme.
The recent arrests of 54-year-old Sona Pillay and Michael Philip Adam, 55, come after the Hawks’ serious commercial crime investigation put Graig Roy Warriner behind bars.
The 60-year-old Warriner was convicted and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment on 206 counts of fraud and one of contravening the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act for operating an investment scheme without a licence or being registered as a financial service provider. Read more...
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Anti-money laundering agency flags terror financing risk in banks
By John Mutua | 20 May 2024 Business Daily
The Financial Reporting Centre (FRC) has flagged foreign ownership of some local banks in Kenya as presenting terrorism financing risks in the latest assessment of the country’s exposure and preparedness to fight dirty cash. Read more...
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In memory of Aimé Rasoloharimanana, Director General of the Agency for the Recovery of Illicit Assets (ARAI), Madagascar
The asset recovery community is in mourning following the sudden passing of Aimé Rasoloharimanana, Director General of the Agency for the Recovery of Illicit Assets (ARAI), Madagascar. Aimé Rasoloharimanana passed away on the 14th May 2024 after being admitted to a hospital for surgery. Read More...___________________________________
Africa’s Fight against Illicit Financial Flows and renewed calls to Return Stolen Assets
By the Staff Writer | 15 May 2024 African Union
The fight against corruption has contributed significantly to the on-going transformation of economies across the continent and reinforces the determination towards achieving inclusive and sustainable development as envisaged in Africa’s Agenda 2063.
These strides in the fight against corruption have been supported by legal and policy frameworks such as the African Union’s Convention on Preventing and Combatting Corruption (AUCPCC). Read More...
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SACCOs, MFIs put Uganda at risk by flouting anti-money laundering rules
By Reporter | 7 May 2024 The Independent
The failure of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (SACCOs) and Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) to comply with Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT) regulations poses a significant threat to Uganda’s financial integrity on the global stage. Read More...
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Nine sentenced to a cumulative 10 939 years
The sentencing of nine people for a cumulative of 10 939 years for committing various crimes including money laundering, fraud and forgery, has been welcomed by National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya. Read More...
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NPA RECOVERS ZMW 777,751,595.42 MILLION IN HIGH-PROFILE FORFITURE CASES
By Chali Mbewe-Hambayi | 16 April 2024 National Prosecution Authority of Zambia
In a strategic move towards combating financial crimes, the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) has over the last one month successfully recovered US$30,902,855.00 (ZMW 777,751,595.42) in forfeitures from multiple high-profile cases. The unprecedented recoveries not only demonstrate the State’s dedication to justice, but also the importance of asset recovery as a potent alternative to the traditional criminal prosecution system. Read More...