Assessing The Impact Of Domestic Anti-Money Laundering Laws In Combating Banks ‘Money Laundering Vulnerabilities: A Case Study Of Zimbabwe Bank Abc From 2020-2023
- Author
- Hundivenga , Edwin
- Title
-
Assessing The Impact Of Domestic Anti-Money Laundering Laws In Combating Banks ‘Money Laundering Vulnerabilities: A Case Study Of Zimbabwe Bank Abc From 2020-2023
- Abstract
- Money laundering represented a severe threat to economic and financial stability globally. This study investigated the impact of Zimbabwe's domestic anti-money laundering (AML) laws in combating inherent vulnerabilities in the banking sector, using ABC Bank as an instrumental case study. The research had five key objectives: Identify inherent money laundering risks faced by Zimbabwean banks, especially ABC Bank; Describe the evolution of Zimbabwe's AML legal/regulatory framework over 2020-2023; Determine the efficacy of this regime in mitigating bank vulnerabilities; Document implementation and enforcement practices; and Recommend measures to further strengthen defences. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was utilized, collecting quantitative data through surveys and qualitative data through interviews with 10 purposively sampled AML experts from regulatory agencies and ABC Bank. Results revealed major on-going vulnerabilities related to cash transactions, politically exposed persons, weak due diligence and opaque corporate structures. While legal frameworks significantly evolved under rising international pressure, gaps persisted around out-dated laws, uneven implementation and limited non-bank supervision. The regulatory regime achieved modest improvements in compliance and risk awareness, but critical deficiencies remained regarding resourcing, enforcement consistency, and risk-focused approaches. Implementation and oversight were found to be inadequate overall. Key recommendations centred on legal harmonization, increased penalties, advanced technologies, consolidated supervision, specialist training, public-private collaboration and risk-based audits to enhance effectiveness. Despite reform efforts, critical work remained to fortify Zimbabwe's AML/CFT infrastructure against exploitation. The research filled an important evidence gap and offered policymakers, regulators and banks tailored recommendations to strengthen systemic resilience based on empirical insights from the field.
- Date
- June 2024
- Publisher
- BUSE
- Keywords
- Money Laundering
- Banks
- Case Study
- Zimbabwe
- Supervisor
- Dr. Chikomba
- Media
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EDWIN HUNDIVENGA.pdf