MIAMI, Dec. 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ACAMS, a leading membership organization dedicated to fighting financial crime globally, is taking aim at illicit actors in Africa with a new chapter co-located in Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda. Launched on December 7th, the ACAMS East Africa Chapter provides a platform for the education and professional development of AFC and sanctions compliance practitioners and aims to drive collaboration among private-sector institutions, regulatory bodies, law enforcement agencies, and other organizations engaged in combatting illicit finance.
To mark the launch, the chapter hosted its first event virtually with a keynote address by Joseph Jagada, Principle Expert for the Eastern and South African Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG). The event included panel discussions on such topics as the potential impact of climate change on financial-crime risks, the compliance implications of the FTX collapse, the emergence of cybercrime as a predicate offense to money laundering, and professional-development guidance linked to Big Data, virtual assets, and other technologies.
As the 63rd chapter in the ACAMS global network and the second on the African continent, the East Africa Chapter welcomes professionals from all segments of the AFC space, including banks, mobile payment providers, FinTech businesses, insurance companies, consultancies, law firms, cryptoasset issuers, regulatory bodies, law enforcement agencies, and other entities exposed to illicit-finance risks.
“ACAMS Chapters are a testament to the simple truth that financial institutions and governments are most effective at fighting illicit finance when they collaborate and communicate with one another,” said ACAMS CEO Scott Liles. “Through the ACAMS East Africa Chapter, AFC professionals now have a network of peers that can work together in identifying and reporting money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, and other illicit activity in the region.”
“Chapter members can build on their compliance knowledge to better mitigate their institutional risks, protect those vulnerable individuals who have fallen victim to criminal groups, and ultimately save lives,” he said.
The ACAMS East Africa Chapter is led by the following board members: Jennifer Gitiri, Deputy Director, Legal Services and Corporate Secretary for the Asset Recovery Agency in Kenya; Hilda Gituro, Head of Compliance & Combating Financial Crime at Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Limited in Kenya; Ilago Mabelya, Head of Financial Crime Compliance for Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania in Tanzania; Agnes Magero, Head of Anti-Money Laundering at Safaricom PLC in Kenya; Brenda Magoba, Group Company Secretary & General Counsel at Centenary Group Limited in Uganda; Jovia Namuwaya, Senior Manager of Financial Crime Compliance at Stanbic Bank Uganda in Uganda; Ubald Sesonga, Executive Head of the Risk and Compliance Department at Bank of Africa Rwanda Plc in Rwanda; Yona Wanjala, Executive Director of the Defenders Protection Initiative in Uganda; and Ahmed Nuh Yusuf, Chief Compliance Officer at Salaam Bank in Somalia.
Learn more about the ACAMS East Africa Chapter here.
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About ACAMS®
ACAMS is a leading international membership organization dedicated to providing opportunities for anti-financial crime (AFC) education, best practices, and peer-to-peer networking to AFC professionals globally. With over 100,000 members across 180 jurisdictions, ACAMS is committed to the mission of ending financial crime through the provision of anti-money laundering/counterterrorism-financing and sanctions knowledge-sharing, thought leadership, risk-mitigation services, ESG initiatives, and platforms for public-private dialogue. The association’s CAMS certification is the gold- standard qualification for AFC professionals, while the CGSS certification is its premier specialist qualification for sanctions professionals. ACAMS’ 60 Chapters globally further amplify the association’s mission through training and networking initiatives. Visit acams.org for more information.
Lashvinder Kaur ACAMS +44 7388 264478 lkaur@acams.org
