Mod T Secka made this remarks at the opening ceremony of a three day conclave on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating Financing Terrorism (CFT) for non-regulators and supervisors in the ECOWAS member states, held on the 4 to 6 October respectively, at the Coco Ocean Spa and Resort, Kololi. The three-day extensive seminar was organised and sponsored by the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering (GIABA) in West Africa.
The event, which brought together participants from all ECOWAS member states, capacitated attendees with good regulatory and supervisory framework for combating the looming act of money laundering and terrorist financing. “Therefore, any effort to eliminate or purge our economies off” the scourge of money laundering and financing terrorism is a step in the right direction, he said.
He salutes the significant headways that GIABA – the money-action group – has been able to accomplish by helping West Africa and by extension other African countries get rid of the menace of money laundering and its vices.
Speaking further, he said, “Notable strides have been made in the fight against ML & CFT,” but added that there are still challenges that remain to be surmounted.
According to him, weak criminal system to help prosecutes convicts and the capacity of some member states to utilise the technical support and funding being made available to them are some of the challenges that are holding the arms of advocates engaged in the crusade against ML & CFT.
Emphasising on the importance of holding seminars of such nature, the Finance Ministry PS said “We are all aware of the significant role the private and informal sector play in the socio-economic development of our nations. The informal sector especially cannot be ignored and including them in the fight against money laundering cannot be over-looked.”
“Given that our economies are cash based, including the informal sector in decision-making process will encourage them to report any suspicious action and transaction. This is because they would be aware of the consequences of not reporting and the incentive of doing so. Taking a holistic approach, in a cohesive manner will ensure that the impact of the menace is limited, if not eliminated,” he explained.
According to his elucidation, capacitating these actors could be carried out by implementing some of the recommendations, in the likes of “Building the capacities of Designated Non-financial Businesses and Profession (DNFBPs); demonstrating the AML & CFT supervision undertaken effectively across the financial, private and non-formal sector; establishing a fully operational and effectively functioning Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and developing on-going employee training program to help them effectively” join the battle against ML & CFT.
“Helping to build the capacities of non-formal, non-state actors by equipping them with the relevant tools will help the region in its war against the plague that is money laundering and FT,” he said.
Explaining the genesis of GIABA, Dr Abdullahi Shehu, the agency’s Director General said: “In response to the devastating effects of money laundering and related criminal activities on West African countries, the Authority of Heads of State of the ECOWAS established GIABA as a specialised institution with the objective to protect the national economies and the financial and banking systems of Member States against abuse through the laundering of proceeds of crime and the financing of terrorism; improving measures and intensify efforts to combat money laundering and terrorism financing in West Africa; and strengthening cooperation amongst its members.”
Since the money-action group was established in 2000 and took up in 2005 as an effectual functioning bureau, it has weathered so many tempests just in half a decade.
The 2007-2009 Strategic Plan of Action that was approved by the ECOWAS council of Ministers and which was clustered around various strategic objectives, amongst them the promotion of strategic partnerships with the civil society, including awareness raising and support to the private sector to effectively comply with acceptable AML/CFT standards; promotion of regional and international cooperation and collaboration to combat these phenomena, among others, ended in December 2009 with vivid grades.
“In compliance with the ECOWAS Ministerial Council Regulation adopting measures for the improvement of the efficiency of ECOWAS institutions, an independent evaluation of the implementation of the Action Plan was carried out in 2010. The outcome of that evaluation formed the design of another Strategic Action Plan for 2011-2014,” he elucidated.
For his part, Bassiru Njai, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Gambia, “Money laundering is simply a process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. Aside from associated predicate crimes, money laundering is strongly linked with terrorism financing.
The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – an inter-government body established to combat money laundering --, admits that although its is absolutely impossible to produce a reliable estimate of the amount of money laundered, what is not in doubt is that they run in the billion of dollars year and poses a significant policy concern for government.”
He revealed that in 2003, FATFI identified galaxies of non-financial businesses and professions, such as lawyers, real estate agents etc that could fall prey of being used by design or naively to conceal the proceeds of crime.
On a final note, the Central Bank deputy governor commended GIABA for its untiring efforts, and reaffirmed Gambia’s government unwavering commitment to ensuring that the necessary legislation to fight ML & CFT both meet international standards and effective implementation.
MULTIFACETED APPROACH TO MONEY LAUNDERING AND FINANCING TERRORISM
Dr Abdullahi Shehu went on to explain to journalists at a press conference that the battle for creating a money-laundering free zone requires a multifaceted approach that would involve people from all works of life.
According to him, the lack of political will from any other country in the sub-region will serious hinder the efforts of those soldiers engaged in the battle against ML & CFT.
With the political will, the cooperation of relevant stakeholders and the inclusion of stakeholders in decision making process will catapult the fight against the act to the forefront of our economies, he said.
Dr Shehu who rejoined all questions thrown at his direction said “GIABA’s outreach has gone beyond the traditional beneficiary institutions or agencies to include relevant public and private sector institutions, such as the financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses and professions, legislatures and the mass media.
“As you may be aware, some financial institutions have collapsed as a result of money laundering activities associated with their operations. Therefore, in the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, financial institutions become the first line of defense and are now under increasing pressure to demonstrate genuine commitment to implement AML/CFT,” he remarks.
He advised institution to place robust measures in place to safeguards their reputation, by upholding to the internationally recognised system of ML & CFT measures, adding, “Non-compliance with AML/CFT laws and regulations by financial institutions may lead to loss of reputation, loss of customers and business relationships, and even lost operating licence.”
He revealed to reporters that ML has now been criminalised in all Member States, noting that a network of financial intelligence units is in place to provide financial acumen that facilitates investigation into any inkling relating to the act.
Whilst ML always strive to be ahead of law enforcement, exploiting any existing loopholes, deploying sophisticated gadgets and complex methodologies to beat the law, GIABA DG said states should among other measures, “Demonstrate high political commitment to the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, and keep abreast of emerging developing on AML/CFT requirements, including directives of G-20 to FATF on corruption and those Recommendations that undergoing revisions, as well as jurisdiction that are classified by FATF as high risk.”
He called on the information disseminators to use the mightiness of their pen and educate and advocate for a society free from money laundering and financing terrorism.
When shall we say 'good bye to this menaces'?
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