The Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Financial Intelligence Center (FIC) have issued new guidelines for Fit and Proper Persons of Accountable Institutions.

These Guidelines is issued pursuant to section 4(1)(K) of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612) as amended and section 52(5)(e)(i) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2020, Act 1044, and current requirements as stipulated under Regulation and supervision of financial institutions in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations.

The guidelines is applicable to Accountable Institutions supervised by Bank of Ghana. Accountable Institutions means all Bank of Ghana licensed and registered institutions.

According to the BoG, these guidelines shall complement all existing Directives, Notices, or Guidelines issued by Bank of Ghana on Fit and Proper Persons requirements.

The objective of these guidelines is to prohibit persons who are not “fit and proper” from engaging in or undertaking licensed or registered activities with the Bank of Ghana; provide a standardised approach for undertaking fit and proper assessment of shareholders, directors, Key management personnel of Accountable Institutions and third parties who render services to Accountable Institutions and support sound corporate governance practices for Accountable Institution.

The principles underlying these guidelines are proportionality and case-by-case assessment, due process and fairness, fit and proper assessment and ongoing supervision and prevention of criminal ownership and control.

Conditions for Assessment and Appointment

According to the Bank of Ghana, accountable Institutions shall conduct fit and proper assessments both prior to the appointment of a director or Key Management Personnel and on an on-going basis at least annually or whenever the Accountable Institutions become aware of information that may materially compromise a person’s fitness and propriety.

The results of the annual assessments shall be documented and reported to the Board

Reputation

The Bank of Ghana of Ghana shall consider a qualifying person to be of good repute to ensure sound and prudent management and to instill trust and confidence in the Accountable Institutions.

It highlighted that a qualifying person is deemed to be of good repute if there is no evidence or reasonable basis to suggest otherwise.

Demonstration of Sufficient Appreciation of Regulated Activity

In assessing this criterion of a significant shareholders of an Accountable Institution, the Bank of Ghana through an interview will ascertain the person’s appreciation of the regulated activity and its applicable rules and regulations.

The interviews conducted shall also include verification of the source of funds used for shareholding and ongoing financial commitments.