As the United States finally made its exit from the two-decade-long war in Afghanistan and the Taliban took control over the country, financial regulators around the world are now concerned about the financial crimes linked to the central Asian country.
The UK’s financial markets regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), issued a warning to the financial companies on Tuesday about the changes of growing financial crimes, mostly with the flow of funds.
“Firms should be aware of the possible impact these events may have on patterns of financial activity when they assess risks related to particular customers and flows of funds,” the FCA stated.
Maintaining a Robust System
It asked the companies to ‘establish and maintain systems and controls to counter the risk they might be used to further financial crime’.
In addition, these UK companies have to comply with local regulations around money laundering and terror financing. These regulations include provisions for risk assessment, customer due diligence and transaction monitoring.
The regulator wants companies to monitor and assess transactions to Afghanistan. Moreover, they have to report suspicious activities to the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU). Additionally, the UK financial firms have to ensure their compliance meets the Obligations required under Money Laundering Regulations and terrorist financing legislations.
These requirements around keen monitoring of financial transactions will test the robustness of the firms’ systems in place.
“While Afghanistan is not currently listed as a high-risk jurisdiction in Schedule 3ZA of the MLRs, firms are required by Regulation 33(1)(a) to apply risk-sensitive enhanced due diligence measures where there is a high risk of money laundering or terrorist financing,” the FCA added.
Earlier this month, money transferring firm Western Union suspended all its services in Afghanistan when the political situation in the country started to degrade.
