CBK lifts ban on Dahabshiil Kenya

The Central Bank of Kenya has on Tuesday lifted the suspension on Dahabshiil Kenya with immediate effect.

In a statement to newsrooms, CBK says the relevant authorities have carried out a comprehensive review of Dahabshiil Kenya’s operations, policies and practices and that they are satisfied that the company complies fully with the law and operates strict anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing practices.

Dahabshiil will now benefit from access to the Kenyan Ministry of Interior’s new Integrated Population Registration Services database which the Ministry has introduced in order to facilitate local customer due diligence.

In response to this, the Chief Executive Officer of Dahabshiil Group, Mr. Abdirashid Duale, said: “We are delighted to resume our services in Kenya. The Dahabshiil network operates in 126 countries, including Kenya, the UK and the USA, and we respect and comply with the laws of each and every country. Our services provide a vital lifeline for people to feed, educate and otherwise help their families and loved ones, and to run businesses, thus creating jobs. We are also pleased we can resume working with the many international organisations who use our services to support vital humanitarian and development programmes.”

Dahabshiil is said to invest 10% of its profits in humanitarian and community regeneration projects, including building schools, hospitals, and providing safe drinking water.

This comes just a week after President Uhuru Kenyatta directed that the suspension of licenses for 13 registered Money Remittance Providers be lifted upon compliance with Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) regulations.

President Kenyatta further directed the CBK to immediately issue comprehensive regulations to guide the operation of the Hawalas.

The Kenyan government suspended all licensed remittance providers on 7 April 2015.