Legal experts in Dar es Salaam have warned that anybody can be hit with the rod of money laundering not necessarily until a huge amount is involved as the current legislation in the country does not specify any certain amount of money one can transact that may constitute money laundering. Mr Emmanuel Nkoma who is a legal practitioner stated that in Section 12 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2006 as amended from time to time, legal grounds used in the money laundering cases are based on predicate offences to the point that theft of stuff worth as low as Sh5, 000 is part of the predicate offences. Other predicate offences include sexual exploitation, (including sexual exploitation of children); illicit trafficking in stolen or other goods; counterfeiting; armed robbery; kidnapping; illegal restraint and hostage-taking, smuggling; extortion; piracy; hijacking; insider trading; market manipulation; illicit trafficking; dealing in human organs and tissues, terrorism, including terrorist financing; illicit arms trafficking; participating in an organized criminal group; racketeering; trafficking in human beings and smuggling immigrants.
While speaking to The Citizen, Mr Ambrose Mkwere said even people who ten to clean their money by making money illegally and investing it in a legal business are liable to money laundering charges. The National Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Risks Assessment Report 2016 published in 2019 stated that areas which are mostly targeted when it comes to money laundering are housing projects, lending, selling vehicles and gemstone deals, hence the report called for the amendment of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2006 (as amended in 2012), and the Anti-Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act, 2009 to address the deficiencies.
