BOU gets tough on forex flow
Aug 11, 2003
THE Bank of Uganda (BOU) has given foreign exchange bureaus operators new guidelines on how to tackle money laundering. These include reporting any suspicious transactions to BOU
By Andrew Kanyegirire
THE Bank of Uganda (BOU) has given foreign exchange bureaus operators new guidelines on how to tackle money laundering. These include reporting any suspicious transactions to BOU.
Dr. Marios Obwona, the BOU executive director of research, was meeting forex dealers at the Grand Imperial Hotel on Saturday. He reminded them that launders, “aim to change the identity of illegally obtained money in an attempt to make it appear legitimate.â€
This focus on forex operators is part of the Uganda Bankers Association’s ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) nationwide anti-money laundering campaign.
“The guidelines are meant to help forex bureaus identify money laundering transactions on a day to day basisâ€, Titus Mulindwa, the BOU principal legal officer said.
Forex dealers have been warned to be vigilant about the identities, backgrounds and business operations of their customers.
“Forex bureaus will be required to report suspicious transactions and report these transactions to the Central Bank,†Mulindwa said.
Dealers will also be expected to put more emphasis than before, on their forex outflow forms. These indicate why a customer is selling or buying forex.
Speaking on behalf of the dealers, Steven Mwanje, chairman of the Uganda Forex Bureaus Association (UFBA) said, although they appreciated the fight against money laundering they also had some anxieties.
“Customers might turn back to the ‘kibanda’ market. Also, with all these new requirements, our volumes may go down,†Mwanje said.
“So our request is to sensitise the customers (the public) before we go full scale ahead,†he said.
BOU officials are also hopeful that the Foreign Exchange Bill, that is awaiting assent by President Museveni, will help to expose illegal forex dealers.
BOU officials were also keen to stress that the new measures were not to make business overly difficult for forex operators and their customers, but to curb dealings in ‘dirty money’.
THE Bank of Uganda (BOU) has given foreign exchange bureaus operators new guidelines on how to tackle money laundering. These include reporting any suspicious transactions to BOU.
Dr. Marios Obwona, the BOU executive director of research, was meeting forex dealers at the Grand Imperial Hotel on Saturday. He reminded them that launders, “aim to change the identity of illegally obtained money in an attempt to make it appear legitimate.â€
This focus on forex operators is part of the Uganda Bankers Association’s ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) nationwide anti-money laundering campaign.
“The guidelines are meant to help forex bureaus identify money laundering transactions on a day to day basisâ€, Titus Mulindwa, the BOU principal legal officer said.
Forex dealers have been warned to be vigilant about the identities, backgrounds and business operations of their customers.
“Forex bureaus will be required to report suspicious transactions and report these transactions to the Central Bank,†Mulindwa said.
Dealers will also be expected to put more emphasis than before, on their forex outflow forms. These indicate why a customer is selling or buying forex.
Speaking on behalf of the dealers, Steven Mwanje, chairman of the Uganda Forex Bureaus Association (UFBA) said, although they appreciated the fight against money laundering they also had some anxieties.
“Customers might turn back to the ‘kibanda’ market. Also, with all these new requirements, our volumes may go down,†Mwanje said.
“So our request is to sensitise the customers (the public) before we go full scale ahead,†he said.
BOU officials are also hopeful that the Foreign Exchange Bill, that is awaiting assent by President Museveni, will help to expose illegal forex dealers.
BOU officials were also keen to stress that the new measures were not to make business overly difficult for forex operators and their customers, but to curb dealings in ‘dirty money’.