With an emphasis on inclusive financial integrity, Cenfri provides technical assistance, tools and skills building to policymakers, regulators, supervisors and compliance heads looking to apply risk-based and outcomes accountable approaches to money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation-financing risk strategies. Combining our understanding of relevant risks, familiarity with the FATF guidelines, knowledge of identity and identity-proofing capabilities and leveraging our competency in risk data analytics, we support financial service value chains undertake assessments from national level to the financial product level, thereby enabling the adoption of appropriate customer due diligence practices. Cenfri is committed to assisting countries to move off the grey list responsibly, shaping national risk assessment processes with empirical data and working with remittance services’ compliance managers to ensure that low-income households are not disproportionately affected in receiving low-value remittances. We are interested in mitigating the longer-term impact of illicit financial flows using digital technology (regtech, suptech and AI) to evaluate and monitor illicit flows and enhance inclusive financial integrity. We have worked with BankServ Africa, FSD Africa, GIZ, IFAD’s Financing Facility for Remittances, UNCDF and AFI on a range of financial integrity and identity projects. |
The problem of illicit financial flows is recognised in the SDGs yet little progress has been made in combatting them Illicit financial flows (IFFs) are typically understood as “dirty money” crossing borders. The term covers a number of different cross-jurisdictional crimes including money laundering (ML), bribery, corruption, resource smuggling, human
Read our latest report with the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) exploring KYC innovations It is estimated that approximately one billion people across the world do not have access to an officially recognisable identity. Most of these people live in developing economies. The ability of a person to prove their
We all know that sinking feeling when the bank tells you that the proof of address you brought does not meet the required standard. You then have to go back home and search for an original official document sent to your address in the last month or so that is
How do we understand illicit financial flows from a financial integrity perspective? Illicit financial flows (IFFs) are understood to have a negative impact on the growth and development of countries as they drain them of resources that could have been utilised for social spending and other important functions. Moreover, they
A recent study by the World Bank shows that as many as 1.1 billion people live without basic proof of identity. Being able to prove one’s identity is an important enabler in society. It allows one to access critical services, such as health services, government grants and education. It is
The World Bank (2017) estimates that 1.1 billion people live without proof of identity. Nearly 50% of these people live in sub-Saharan Africa, where 454 million individuals are excluded from formal identify systems. In Nigeria, 78% of the population or 149 million individuals cannot prove their identity. Lack of identity documentation
Countries in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region have been on a development curve in setting up effective Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulatory responses that meet the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. FATF is a global body mandated with setting standards on financial
The five-year RRI programme is a partnership between FSD Africa and Cenfri. Its aim is to improve welfare and boost investment growth in sub-Saharan Africa. To achieve this, it works to strengthen the integrity and risk management role of the financial sector and to facilitate remittance flows within and into
The World Bank estimated that in 2016 remittances from migrant workers to developing countries will be worth USD 440 billion. More than twice that of foreign aid. Remittances play a critical role in supporting the welfare of many individuals and households in developing countries. Moreover, remittances can contribute to economic
