Transparency International says cases analyzed by Financial Intelligence Centre down 2.7% in 2022

Transparency International Zambia (TI-Z) has said the number of cases analysed by the Financial Intelligence Center (FIC) have reduced over time, which was a major concern.

TIZ Executive Director, Maurice Nyambe, said the annual Trends Analysis Reports had revealed that the number of cases analysed had reduced compared to previous years.

Nyambe said this was limiting the increase in the number of cases disseminated to Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs).

Reacting to the recent FIC Trends Analysis Report, Nyambe said analysis of the 2022 report showed that the Centre received 5,745 reports but analysed only 155 cases, representing a paltry 2.7 percent of reports received.

He said this was compared to 211 reports analysed in 2021 out of the 2,577 reports received, representing 8.2 percent of the cases.

“The immediate interpretation of this trend is that the 2022 report has less depth than the report immediately preceding it, which was also the case with last year’s report,” Nyambe said.

He added that based on this worrying trend, TIZ had very serious concerns and reservations about the capacity of the FIC in executing its mandate in an efficient and effective manner.

Nyambe called on the new FIC Board not to leave any stones unturned in addressing the underlying financial and technical challenges responsible for this worrying state of affairs.

“Delving further into the details of the report, our analysis shows that the number of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) have more than doubled to 5,745 in 2022 compared to 2,577 in
2021,” he said.

Nyambe said the majority of the increase in STRs came from banks, accounting for 97 percent received in 2022.

Money or Value Transfer Services (MVTS) have increased due to progressive provisions in the recently enacted Financial Intelligence Centre (Amendment) Act No.16 of 2020.

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