CBK suspends Absa Bank from Forex trading

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has suspended Absa Bank Plc from transacting as an authorized Forex dealer.

In a statement on Thursday, CBK indicated that Absa Bank has been suspended for five working days after it flouted anti-money laundering rules during trades conducted in March 2020.

“In investigating these and other earlier transactions it is evident that Absa Kenya did not have the satisfactory assurance of the underlying commercial transactions supporting these trades, as is required.

"... did the bank did not ensure the standard checks on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements were applied, ” the statement reads.

Five working days suspension

CBK has ordered Absa to cease trading as an authorised Forex dealer for five working days- Thursday, April 9, 2020, to Wednesday, April 15, 2020.

In the statement, CBK said Absa has been banned and cannot transact in the inter-bank foreign exchange market.

However, the regulator has allowed the lender to settle committed transactions as of April 8.