Key Documents

Uganda Requires Financial Institutions to Report Suspicious Transactions

March 26, 2004

Uganda Establishes KYC Rules, Procedures for Financial Institutions

November 12, 2010

Uganda Prohibits Terrorist Financing

May 21, 2002

Important Facts

- The U.S. Department of State labels Uganda as a monitored jurisdiction. The country has a total of 25 commercial banks, 84 percent of which are foreign-owned, and more than 300 nonbank financial institutions. Only 20 percent of Ugandans have deposits in the formal banking sector, with the rest of the populace relying on cash transactions or alternative forms of banking. Money transfers and payments through mobile phones have become key providers of basic financial services for low-income earners. Uganda’s cash-based informal economy provides a fertile environment for money laundering. Its lack of intellectual property rights legislation feeds a large black market for smuggled and/or counterfeit goods. Currently, most laundered money comes from domestic proceeds, much of which stems from unchecked corruption. Real estate and casino operations are of particular concern. Uganda’s inability to monitor formal and informal financial transactions, particularly informal trade along porous borders with South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, could render Uganda vulnerable to more advanced money laundering activities and potential terrorist financing. Uganda’s black market takes advantage of these borders and the lack of customs and tax collection enforcement capacity.
- KYC Covered Entities: Banks, finance companies, microfinance institutions, foreign exchange bureaus, and any entity accepting deposits; legal practitioners, executors, trustees, and financial guarantors; casinos; real estate agents; dealers in precious metals and gems; insurance companies; investment brokers, dealers, and advisors; all licensing authorities and registrars of land and companies; lending, financial leasing, and money or value transfer entities; traders of monetary instruments, foreign exchange, securities, and commodity futures; portfolio and fund managers, and entities providing safekeeping services
- STR Covered Entities: Banks, finance companies, microfinance institutions, foreign exchange bureaus, and any entity accepting deposits; legal practitioners, executors, trustees, and financial guarantors; casinos; real estate agents; dealers in precious metals and gems; insurance companies; investment brokers, dealers, and advisors; all licensing authorities and registrars of land and companies; lending, financial leasing, and money or value transfer entities; traders of monetary instruments, foreign exchange, securities, and commodity futures; portfolio and fund managers, and entities providing safekeeping services

Enhanced Due Diligence Procedures for PEPs: Foreign: Yes; Domestic: Yes
Money Laundering Criminal Prosecutions/Convictions: Prosecutors: 0; Convictions: 0

Source: 2016 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR)

Rankings

FATF i | 2013 methodology

Technical	Effectiveness
Compliant : 14	High : 0
Largely Compliant : 5	Substantial : 0
Partially Compliant : 13	Moderate : 0
Non-Compliant : 8	Low : 11

Uganda's technical compliance was re-rated in follow-up report released on Jan. 22, 2021.

BASEL i

Rank : 8/146

Score : 7.95/10

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL i

Rank : 137/180

Score : 28/100

Tax Justice Network i

Rank : N/A

Score : N/A

Uganda

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