Airtel Mobile Commerce N.V., the operator of Airtel Money across Africa, has agreed to tighten anti-money laundering and terrorism financing controls as part of the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) £67.2 million (KSh11.5 billion) investment ahead of its planned London Stock Exchange listing.
Airtel Money, the digital financial services arm of Airtel Africa, enables users in 13 African markets, including Kenya, to send, receive and manage money through online wallets.
The service is already subject to international and local AML and counter-terrorism financing checks, and the IFC investment adds a new layer of compliance for the telco.
“The company has entered into a policy agreement with IFC,” the disclosure seen by Business Daily Africa said, adding that under the agreement the firm has given covenants covering environmental and social laws, fraud, corruption, sanctionable practices and internal AML/CTF policies.
The agreement requires Airtel Money to carry out an independent assessment of its AML and counter-terrorism financing controls within one year of the IFC investment and at least once every three years thereafter.
Existing safeguards include agents verifying customer identification documents, reporting suspicious transactions, maintaining transaction records and flagging customers who refuse to disclose source of funds, decline to provide identification, conduct multiple similar transactions in a short period or repeatedly transact just below prescribed limits.
The IFC deal also obliges Airtel Money to publish sustainability disclosures on its website each year and to give IFC and its environmental and social accountability mechanism access to the company, its subsidiaries, sites, premises, books, records and management for compliance verification.
IFC typically requires investee companies to follow its corporate governance policies, which encompass robust internal controls, risk management and compliance functions.
Airtel Money plans to sell 270 million shares at £1.96 (KSh335.9) each, raising about £529 million (KSh90.7 billion) and valuing the fintech at roughly £5.3 billion, with trading expected to begin on October 14.
IFC expects its participation to help attract additional private capital to what it describes as one of the largest IPOs by an African business on the London Stock Exchange.
Launched in 2011, Airtel Money operates in Kenya, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Seychelles.
Airtel Africa, dual-listed in London and Nigeria, is majority-owned by India’s Bharti Airtel.
The World Bank’s investment arm previously invested in Airtel Africa, committing $165 million (KSh21.4 billion) in 2024 to support operations and refinance existing loans across subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and providing a $194 million (KSh25.2 billion) loan in 2022 to expand mobile internet connectivity in six African countries.
