Section 19 Money Laundering Act

Section 19 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 is about Other offences. It provides as follows:

(1) Without prejudice to the penalties provided under section 18 of this Act, any person who—

(a) being a director or employee of a financial institution warns or in any other way intimates the owner of the funds involved in the transaction referred to in section 7 of this Act about the report he is required to make or the action taken on it or who refrains from making the report as required ;

(b) destroys or removes a register or record required to be kept under this Act ;
(c) carries out or attempts under a false identity to carry out any of the
transactions specified in sections 2 – 6 of this Act ;

(d) makes or accepts cash payments exceeding the amount authorised under this Act ;
(e) fails to report an international transfer of funds or securities required to be reported under this Act ; or
(f) being a director or an employee of a financial institution or designated non-financial business and profession contravenes the provisions of sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 of this Act, commits an offence under this Act.

(2) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1)—
(a) paragraph (a), is liable on conviction to a fine of at least N10,000,000 or imprisonment for a term of at least two years ; and
(b) paragraphs (b)-(f ), is liable to a fine of N10,000,000 or imprisonment for a term of at least three years or both, in the case of individual and N25,000,000 in the case of a body corporate.

(3) A person found guilty of an offence under this section may also be banned indefinitely or for a period of five years from practicing the profession which provided the opportunity for the offence to be committed.

(4) Where as a result of a serious oversight or a flaw in its internal control procedures, a financial institution or person designated under section 10 (1) (a)
of this Act, fails to meet any of the obligations imposed by this Act, the disciplinary authority responsible for the financial institution or the person’s professional body may, in addition to any penalty in this Act take such disciplinary action against the financial institution or persons as is in conformity with its professional and administrative regulations.