MONROVIA — The Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) has fined Lonestar Cell MTN Mobile Money, Inc. (LCMMMI) L$25 million (US$125,100) for what authorities called persistent and “troubling” failures to comply with anti-money laundering laws.
The FIA announced Monday that its decision followed a risk-based inspection that uncovered multiple serious violations, including the company’s long-standing failure to establish an independent board of directors, separate from its parent company, Lonestar Cell MTN GSM, Inc.
The violation of Liberia’s 2021 Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act, as well as earlier regulations governing mobile money operations, was first flagged by the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) in a December 2018 report. Despite repeated warnings, authorities said, the mobile money company failed to correct the problem.
“The Agency is extremely baffled by the Mobile Money operator’s failure to address this major violation since December 2018 when it was first identified by the CBL up to present,” the FIA said in a statement.
Beyond governance lapses, FIA investigators detailed a series of additional infractions that have raised alarm over the company’s internal controls. These include failing to properly screen and monitor its agents — a lapse that allowed the now-defunct Smart AI platform to exploit LCMMMI’s system in a 2023 Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of Liberians.
LCMMMI was also cited for operating without specific authorization from the Central Bank to grant unlimited transaction levels for full agents and merchants. The FIA found that the company failed to properly monitor high-volume transactions and neglected its obligation to file required Currency Transaction Reports, exposing itself to significant money laundering risks.
Investigators said the company also failed to adequately identify and assess risks related to its customers, products, services, geographical locations, and delivery channels — all in violation of the AML/CFT Act and accompanying financial regulations.
The FIA has ordered LCMMMI to deposit the full amount of the fine into a government escrow account. It also warned that additional supervisory actions could follow if the company does not move swiftly to address the full range of compliance obligations.
The fine is one of the largest penalties levied against a digital financial services provider in Liberia and underscores growing regulatory scrutiny over mobile money platforms, which have become critical to the country’s economy but increasingly vulnerable to financial crimes.
Lonestar Cell MTN Mobile Money has not yet publicly responded to the FIA’s action.
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