Arctic Intelligence welcomes new client African Bank Limited

June 1, 2020

Arctic Intelligence is delighted to announce African Bank Limited’s (ABL) recent procurement of their AML solution, AML Accelerate. As a global RegTech firm, Arctic Intelligence has designed risk assessment and audit and assurance solutions pertaining to financial crime risk and compliance matters to help regulated entities manage their compliance obligations. African Bank joins hundreds of Arctic Intelligence’s global clients in over 10 countries across 12 jurisdictions. This exemplifies how Arctic Intelligence’s AML technology solution and robust methodology can be adopted globally.

African Bank’s Group Head of Financial Crime Department, Lawrence Muravha says ‘ABL significant time researching a software or solution that will enable digital and seamless completion of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) risk assessments. We found the use of spreadsheets and other manual methodologies as not efficient way to conduct risk assessments mainly due to a failure in keeping clear record of evidence of processes and results. Furthermore, it also not always simple to explain as to how one arrived at the final outcome of the assessments and provided for more room of individual judgement to be made by Compliance Officers’.

‘While in the process of refreshing our annual AML risk assessments, ABL subsequently, identified Arctic Intelligence or AML Accelerate tool as the solution that meet our predefined requirements for being aligned with industry best practices, international standards and enable conducting of end to end AML risk assessment, capturing of data, electronic record keeping, version control and visualisation of outcomes or reports’, he adds.

By revisiting their own anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing (AML/CTF) practices, African Bank’s proactive approach has shown prudence ahead of South African regulators 2020 review and aligns with Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) recommendations.

Lawrence also states, ‘ABL was impressed with the AML solution and elected to engage Arctic Intelligence for more information and demonstration of the software, the presentation confirmed the findings of our research, satisfied our needs and we took a final decision to procure the solution. We are very excited with this partnership and we look forward to a long-lasting relationship’.

EU’s money-laundering blacklist has been updated in May 2020 to include four more African countries posing significant threats to the African banking sector. Staying ahead of the curve is precisely the type of risk mitigation strategy needed to combat crime. The evolution of the financial crime landscape, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, has proven the agility of criminals and businesses need to adopt the same measures.

Arctic Intelligence believes that everyone has a role in fighting financial crime and by providing cost-effective AML solutions that helps organisations achieve their compliance obligations, they can help to ease the burdens of the process. Arctic Intelligence has developed financial crime technology solutions which focus on AML risk assessments and other financial crimes risk domains as well as audit and assurance of their risk programs which focuses on the governance and review areas within the compliance cycle. Arctic Intelligence extends a warm welcome to African Bank Limited as they adopt the risk-based approach using their AML solution, AML Accelerate.