Religious bodies, AML/CFT-P in implementation challenges
Friday, January 29, 2021
They provide comfort, support to the needy, hope and strength in the daily lives of many people. To survive, these institutions rely on donations from worshippers and supporters and income from investments or any business they operate.
Religious institutions though are prime targets for financial crime. Weak internal controls and a general lack of accountability by some to parishioners, offer managers of religious institutions ample opportunity to commit fraud or for fraud to be committed upon them by external parties. There are numerous examples of internal fraud being committed by religious leaders. For example, in 2019 a pastor of a church who was also a bank manager in South Carolina USA, was convicted of bank fraud and identity theft after he used his position to obtain loans and lines of credit for elderly customers. He laundered the money from his crimes through his church.
The recent Vaccination Day in Motokwe, orchestrated through collaborative efforts between UNICEF, USAID, BRCS, and the Ministry of Health, underscores a commendable stride towards fortifying child health services.The painful reality as reflected by the Ministry of Health's data regarding the decline in routine immunisation coverage since the onset of the pandemic, is a cause for concern.It underscores the urgent need to address the...