Liberia’s financial watchdog slaps Oceano Casino with L$10M fine over AML failures

The Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) of Liberia has imposed a L$10 million (USD $52,600) fine on Oceano Casino for serious violations of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act of 2021.

The fine follows a months-long, risk-based compliance inspection carried out between October 2, 2024, and March 17, 2025, which uncovered critical deficiencies in the casino’s anti-money laundering framework.

Inspectors found that Oceano Casino had no formal risk-assessment procedures in place for evaluating customers, products, or delivery channels—breaching Section 15.3.1 of the AML/CFT Act.

The casino also failed to appoint an independent AML/CFT compliance officer or establish a dedicated compliance function, in direct violation of Section 15.3.12(1).

Its AML policies were outdated and misaligned with both national law and international standards, lacking provisions for enhanced due diligence, politically exposed person (PEP) screening, and risk-based monitoring.

Oceano Casino operated without automated transaction-monitoring systems, making it incapable of detecting or reporting suspicious activities in real time.

The FIA described the violations as “egregious” and said the deficiencies posed significant money laundering and terrorist financing risks to the financial system.

In addition to the fine, Oceano Casino has been ordered to submit a detailed Action Plan by May 12, 2025, outlining how it will address the compliance failures.

The casino must fully implement remedial measures to correct the identified gaps and meet AML/CFT standards no later than July 9, 2025.