The Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) of Liberia has imposed a hefty fine of L$18.5 million on the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) for failing to comply with key Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations, in what authorities described as a serious breach of national financial laws.
The penalty stems from a risk-based compliance inspection conducted by the FIA from December 2–13, 2024, which uncovered widespread non-compliance and critical lapses in the bank’s AML/CFT frameworks.
According to the FIA’s inspection report, LBDI violated multiple provisions of the AML/CFT Act of 2021, the Amended Corporate Governance Regulations (No. CBL/RSD/001/2012), and the AML/CFT Regulations for Financial Institutions (Regulations No. CBL/RSD/002/2017).
Among the most serious breaches was the bank’s lack of Board oversight on AML/CFT risk management, failure to identify and monitor money laundering risks, and not assessing the risks associated with pre-existing customers, products, services, delivery channels, and geographic locations.
These are direct violations of Sections 15.3.1 and 15.3.10 of the 2021 Act, the FIA noted.
The inspection also revealed that LBDI’s senior management failed to approve the bank’s AML/CFT policies, a breach of Section 15.3.12(2) of the AML/CFT Act. Furthermore, the bank was found to have no proper structure in place to verify customer and beneficial ownership information, particularly for high-risk clients.
In a more damning finding, LBDI was in possession of software to monitor and flag suspicious transactions but failed to file any such reports to the FIA, violating Section 15.3.20 of the law. Compounding the issue, employees responsible for monitoring such activities lacked the necessary training, raising serious concerns about institutional capacity and oversight.
As part of the enforcement action, the FIA has ordered LBDI to deposit the L$18.5 million fine into the Government of Liberia’s account at the Central Bank no later than October 10, 2025.
Proof of payment must be submitted to the Agency, in line with the law.
In addition to the fine, the bank has been instructed to develop and submit a comprehensive action plan with clear timelines to the FIA by October 20, 2025, outlining remediation measures to address all identified deficiencies.
The bank must also fully implement appropriate controls and adopt necessary mitigating measures to curb money laundering, terrorist financing, and the potential proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by December 1, 2025.
The FIA emphasized that it will continue to monitor the situation closely and take additional supervisory actions as necessary to ensure full compliance with Liberia’s AML/CFT framework.
This enforcement action marks one of the most significant penalties imposed by the FIA to date and signals a growing commitment by Liberian authorities to strengthen the integrity of the country’s financial system.
