Tanzania has launch a thorough risk assessment exercise to examine Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing risks associated with “Virtual Assets and Virtual Assets Service Providers. The Financial Intelligence Unit  with the support of technical experts from the Global Center on Cooperative Security (GCCS), organized a three-days event to discuss the pros and cons of adopting these innovative technologies. The meeting is held at Bank of Tanzania sub-head office, Dar es Salaam.

Speaking to the participants, Chairperson of the National Multi- Disciplinary Committee on Anti-Money Laundering, Counter Terrorism Financing and Counter- Proliferation Financing, Ms. Sauda Msemo, thanked the technical experts from the United States for their valuable assistance. They stressed the importance of careful integration of virtual assets into the country’s financial system, noting the potential issues of money laundering, terrorist financing, and the difficulties of tracing transactions that are completely anonymous.

“Virtual assets have advantages and disadvantages or risks, they provide more convenient, faster, and cheaper ways of making payments, but their anonymity makes it harder for law enforcement and crime prevention agencies to track them,” she said.

The Financial Action Task Force’s advice to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment before embracing these assets was well received by Tanzanian authorities. “As a part of the global community and a follower of FATF standards, Tanzania recognizes the need to understand and manage the risks associated with virtual assets,” stated Msemo.

The main goal of the risk assessment is to inform policy making regarding anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and counter-proliferation financing measures. “We want to protect Tanzanian people from the negative effects of virtual assets while taking advantage of the opportunities they offer,” she added.

Additionally, the meeting aims to address key questions about the definition of cryptocurrencies. “Should Tanzania treat cryptocurrencies as assets or as currency?” This is an unresolved question that requires careful deliberation for Tanzania to move forward with cryptocurrencies,” she said.

As the three-day event progresses, stakeholders and policymakers hope for enlightening insights that will shape Tanzania’s position on virtual assets and cryptocurrencies, balancing risk management with the potential benefits these technologies might bring.

The risk assessment shows Tanzania’s proactive approach in dealing with the complexities of the digital financial world, aiming for a wise integration of virtual assets while protecting against possible risks to its financial ecosystem.