Rwandans need to know that money laundering is a serious financial crime as well as a virus to the economy, Jean Bosco Murenzi, Head of Compliance and Prevention, at the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), has warned.

Money laundering, usually a key operation of organised crime, is the process of concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source.

While there are few money laundering cases detected, so far, Murenzi told Doing Business that: "Rwandans need to know what money laundering is. It is a serious financial crime that harms the economy.”

In 2020, the government set up the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), a specialised organ with the principal mission of conducting financial intelligence in order to prevent and counter money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related crimes.

It became operational in December 2020, under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance.

Previously, the unit was under the Rwanda National Police and Central Bank. It became independent to fulfill international standards. This was in line with cementing the operations of the Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC) which seeks to attract regional and international investors.

The new organ works with banks, forex bureaus, insurance companies as well as other financial institutions.

Jeanne Pauline Gashumba, Director General of the Financial Intelligence Centre, said the Eastern and Southern Africa regions put in place policies, institutions, and partnerships that enable the prevention, detection and punishment of money laundering and terrorism financing.

To accomplish its mission, FIC collaborates with security, judicial and administrative organs at national, regional and international levels in order to share information related to the fight against money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

In July, Rwandan and Kenyan financial intelligence units signed an agreement of cooperation in areas of information sharing about money laundering, terrorism financing, and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

"We will work together in information exchange and expertise but without violating the policies and regulations of each country,” said Gashumba

She said financial crimes keep on increasing globally because people want dark ways of transacting the money they get from fraudulent activities, human trafficking, corruption, and drug trafficking.

"As long as these crimes exist, people will always try to do money laundering. And terrorism can’t happen unless someone finances it, either by providing equipment or training, among other things.”

Gashumba pointed out that as technology continues to evolve, criminals know how to adapt to it quickly in crafting new ways to commit crimes.

"However, this puts us in a position to continuously upgrade our technology and systems fast enough to be ahead of them,” she added.

When the FIC was set up in 2020, Rwanda had, for five years, sent requests to countries such as Nigeria, Uganda, Poland, the USA, Spain, the Central Africa Republic and Canada, to help recover money that belongs to the country. Only two requests were responded to.

What the law says

To better curtail the crime, Rwanda amended the anti-money laundering law.

The new 2020 law on prevention and punishment of money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction sets penalties for each crime.

The law explains money laundering as, among others, the conversion, transfer or handling of property or funds whose perpetrator knows or is likely to know that such property or funds is the proceeds of crime or it derives from an act of participation in such crime.

It is also the concealment, disguise of the true nature, origin, location, movement, disposition, donation, disguise of the beneficial owner of the property or funds or the person having rights on it, knowing or likely to know that such a property or funds is proceeds of crime or from an act of participation in such crime.

Acquisition, possession or use of property or funds the author knows or is likely to know, at the time of reception, that such a property or funds is derived from proceeds of crime or from an act of participation in crime, is also money laundering.

"Money laundering is committed even if the original acts leading to the acquisition, disposition or transfer of the property or funds to be laundered or the protection of the offender, are carried out on the territory of a third State,” states the law.

Penalties

Article 29 states that a person who carries out money laundering acts or who is involved in an association aiming at committing one of the acts of money laundering commits an offence. Upon conviction, he or she is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than seven years but not more than 10 years and a fine of Rwandan francs of three to five times the amount of money laundered.

"A person who facilitates another person to benefit from laundered property or funds of a terrorist or of someone who may be a terrorist, by concealing, shifting from one place to another, transferring to other people the property or funds or by any other way related to that which is referred to in this Article, commits an offence.”

Upon conviction, he or she is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than 10 years but not more than 15 years.