Antecedents of Compliance with Anti-Money Laundering Regulations in the Banking Sector of Ghana

Bernardette Naa Hoffman, Johnson Okeniyi and Sunday Eneojo Samuel ()
Additional contact information
Bernardette Naa Hoffman: Business and Leadership Department, Nobel International Business School, Accra G538 R010, Ghana
Johnson Okeniyi: Business and Management Department, School of Business and Creative Industry, University of West of Scotland, London E14 2BE, UK
Sunday Eneojo Samuel: Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK

JRFM, 2024, vol. 17, issue 8, 1-27

Abstract: This study examines factors influencing Ghanaian banks’ compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) legislation. Drawing upon institutional, compliance, and dynamic capability theories, the study identifies the interplay of organisational, regulatory, and employee factors influencing compliance outcomes. A mixed methods approach was used to collect data from 23 universal banks, 9 local and 14 foreign, in Ghana, focusing on experienced managers and employees in risk, legal, operations, compliance, and business development departments. The findings show that employee characteristics like due diligence and moral involvement have a positive relationship with compliance with AML regulations; however, contrary to expectations, effective AML/CFT programs did not significantly impact banks’ adherence to these regulations. The association between moral engagement, an innovative culture, and AML compliance is weakened by normative power and an innovative culture acting as negative moderators. This study contributes empirical evidence to the literature on AML compliance in emerging markets and offers practical implications for policymakers, regulators, and banking professionals seeking to boost regulatory effectiveness and mitigate financial crime risks. This study provides a foundation for targeted interventions and strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening the AML regulatory landscape in Ghana and other countries.

Keywords: banking regulation; anti-money laundering; moral involvement; due diligence; innovative culture; compliance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C E F2 F3 G (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/17/8/373/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/17/8/373/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:17:y:2024:i:8:p:373-:d:1459908

Access Statistics for this article

JRFM is currently edited by Ms. Chelthy Cheng

More articles in JRFM from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().