National Lottery Authority Sends Caveat To Gaming Entities In Liberia: Comply With Anti-Money Laundering Laws

Reaffirms Support To Support Enforcement Of AML/CFT Compliance

The newly appointed Leadership of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) has reaffirmed its commitment to support the enforcement of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Compliance in the Gaming Sector.

During a high-level meeting between the Financial Intelligence Agency of Liberia, Officer-in-Charge, Hon. Mohammed A. Nasser and the Director General of the National Lottery Authority, Peter L. Solo highlighted a wide range of essential AML/CFT concerns that are required to foster enhanced cooperation and collaboration between the two Supervisory Authorities.

Key discussions between the FIA and the NLA mentioned major regulatory reforms affecting the Gaming Sector that will reshape the regulatory landscape to include: the development and joint approval of key regulations addressing Corporate Governance and Risk Management guidelines, Transparency and Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons and Arrangements, Customer Due Diligence requirements, reporting requirements, licensing and market entry requirements, including fitness and propriety assessments, among other relevant regulatory issues.

Speaking during the acquaintance meeting with the newly confirmed Director General of the National Lottery Authority, FIA’s Officer-In-Charge, Mohammed Ali Nasser, emphasized that all gaming operators in Liberia are required to establish a formal board of directors.

According to Hon. Nasser, the board of directors will in turn appoint a Compliance Manager to ensure the Compliance Manager has full independence in his/her work, and the board shall have oversight responsibility for his/her work for accountability purposes.

He mentioned that all gaming entities must identify and report their ultimate beneficial owners to prevent anonymity in financial dealings, coupled with proper documentation of market entry and licensing controls by the National Lottery Authority for record purposes.

The FIA OIC lauded the President of Liberia, H.E. Joseph N. Boakai and the Liberian Cabinet for the recent decision to approve the national work plan for the implementation and enforcement of the Beneficial Ownership Registry in line with international standards.

Nasser stressed the importance of all gaming institutions to implement risk-based compliance programs that will be tailored to their operational, customers’ profiles, and exposure to money laundering risks. He urged each gaming entity to report transactions exceeding specified limits to be flagged and reported to the Financial Intelligence Agency of Liberia (FIA) to help enhance transparency in financial flows.

The FIA OIC proposed to the National Lottery Authority to ensure full compliance for all gaming companies to lawfully disclose their beneficial owners to prevent possible concealment of true ownership and deter illicit financial practice.

“Transactions exceeding designated monetary thresholds must be reported to the FIA to ensure greater scrutiny of large cash movements”, OIC Nasser cautions gaming operators in Liberia.

He said the sectoral risk assessment of Liberia’s gaming sector exposure to Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) has been assessed, referencing findings of Liberia’s 2021 National Risk Assessment (NRA) Report.

The FIA Officer-In-Charge emphasized the significance of monitoring of market entry and licensing controls by the NLA to ensure a rigorous “fit and proper” evaluation of all gaming operators to determine their suitability, integrity, and financial capacity before being granted operational licenses.

Meanwhile, the risk-based inspections conducted by the FIA identified gaps in the operational systems of licensed gaming operators between September and December 2024. The Agency’s targeted risk-based inspections, both on-site and off-site at licensed gaming institutions’ facilities focused on the following issues: evaluating AML/CFT compliance frameworks, identifying high-risk customers, products, delivery channels, and reviewing internal controls, and mitigation strategies.

The AML/CFT inspections were triggered by Liberia’s Second Round of Mutual Evaluation Report (MER2) released and adopted in 2023 by the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA). It flagged significant compliance deficiencies in Liberia’s gaming sector and other Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs).

For his part, the Director General of the National Lottery Authority, Hon. Peter L. Solo, stressed that the NLA’s commitment to Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance signals a transformational achievement for Liberia’s gaming sector. According to the Authority boss, the enforcement of robust regulatory standards and promoting transparency, the NLA intends to ensure that gaming institutions operate responsibly and are not exploited by launderers and others for illicit financial activities.