Tanzania: DIB Extends Claim Submission Period for FBME Depositors and Creditors

The Deposit Insurance Board (DIB) has granted an extension for the submission of claims to depositors and other creditors of FBME Bank Limited, currently under liquidation. According to a notice issued in Dar es Salaam over the weekend, the DIB, acting as the Liquidator of FBME Bank Limited, has extended the submission period by two months, from January 1st to February 29th of the current year.

Local depositors with deposits exceeding 1.5 million Tanzanian Shillings are instructed to submit their claims against FBME Bank Limited by completing a claim form and providing a copy of their National Identity Card or any other valid ID. Submissions can be made at FBME Bank Limited’s former branch on Samora Avenue in Dar es Salaam, the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Zanzibar sub-office, or BoT branches in Mwanza and Arusha.

Claim forms are available at FBME Bank Limited’s former branch in Dar es Salaam, the BoT Sub-Head office in Zanzibar, and BoT branches in Mwanza and Arusha, as well as at the DIB.

For international depositors (TIB depositors), the submission of claims is directed to Mr. Petros Ionnides, the appointed agent of DIB in Cyprus.

The history of FBME Bank’s liquidation dates back a decade when the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) assumed management control due to the USA’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) identifying FBME as a financial institution involved in money laundering. The Central Bank of Cyprus also took over the operations of FBME Bank Limited’s branch in Cyprus.

Following FinCEN’s Notice and subsequent legal battles, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of FinCEN in April 2017. This ruling empowered FinCEN to enforce measures that effectively restricted FBME from accessing the US financial system.

In 2017, the BoT revoked FBME Bank Limited’s business license, placing it under liquidation amid accusations of money laundering by the United States government. The liquidation process has now reached a point where the DIB is preparing to disburse approximately 341 billion Tanzanian Shillings to over 6,000 large depositors who had balances of 7.0 million Tanzanian Shillings and above at the time of the bank’s collapse six years ago. The DIB’s victory in court secured its position as the official liquidator for FBME.