Kenya joins SA on the “Grey List” and Other Financial News

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) asked Kenya to supervise crypto-assets, improve the quality of financial intelligence and increase prosecution of money laundering cases. The FATF also added Namibia and removed Uganda from the monitoring list. Nigeria, SA, Burkina Faso and Cameroon are among the African countries on the Grey List. On average, it takes countries on the list 5 to 10 years to get themselves removed from it, according to Glacier Invest. However, it is possible to reverse the decision in a shorter time. Mauritius is a good example, having been removed after less than 2 years on the  list.

This Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms regulator, ordered telecoms companies to restrict consumer access to the websites of companies like Binance, Coinbase and Kraken. The controls mark a U-turn on cryptocurrencies in Nigeria, which President Bola Tinubu’s government had seen as part of its sweeping market-friendly reforms, designed to attract overseas investment to its struggling economy. The reforms included a drive to regulate digital assets, where tokens like bitcoin and tether are seen by some as a rival to traditional assets. The government also reversed a ban on crypto transactions, which had been imposed to tighten up money laundering and terrorism financing standards. The government is also trying to tidy up its system of multiple exchange rates and end its long currency peg.