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| GIABA’s Director-General, Dr. Abdullahi Shehu |
(Coordinator, Anti-Money Laundering Journalists Network-Ghana)
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has tasked its member States to put in place all the necessary regulatory and legal frameworks that will abhor activities and monetary transactions that leads to the creation, promotion and proliferation of all kinds of weapons of mass destruction.
FATF, is a global inter-governmental policy making body established in 1989 by the Ministers of its Member jurisdictions, including West-African countries to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the international financial system and community.
In that regard ECOWAS countries, including Ghana will benefit from technical expertise from the Intergovernmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa, (GIABA), an associate member of FATF on how to draft legal and legislative frameworks and technical support for the various financial intelligence centre’s across the sub-region to track and prevent any kind of activities and financial transactions that leads to the creation, promotion and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), in the sub-region and globally.
Countries that already have legal regimes will also benefit from technical and financial support on how to infuse this new agenda into their existing legal frameworks.
The process which has already begun will be tabled during the meeting of Heads of State Summit of ECOWAS countries this year for adoption and implementation across board.
Hence the mutual evaluation and assessment of member States on their compliance to money laundering (ML) and terrorism financing (TF) will from next year include a nexus on the prevention of activities and financial transactions for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Money laundering basically is the process of concealing the source of money obtained by illicit means.
This FATF regulative requirement adds up to GIABA’s existing core objective of supporting ECOWAS countries to put in place the right legal framework, and financial compliance structures to check the laundering of money and financing of terrorist activities.
In that scheme of things the Director General – GIABA addressing journalists at a press conference in Ghana during the 19thPlenary Meeting of its Technical Commission (TC, meeting - May 7 to 10, 2013) indicated that it was heart warming for his outfit to be part of the process to holistically deal with any activities that promotes terrorism activities and financing.
“In the past we thought that terrorism activities only took place in other parts of world with the West-Africa sub-region being an exception but now we are confronted and facing the consequences terrorist acts can bring at the door step of ECOWAS States hence it’s a step in the right direction that GIABA is coming on board with the international community to deal with the scourges of WMD holistically.”
The GIABA TC and Plenary meetings are platforms for member States to shares experiences and discuss relevant issues that require a concerted, collective and harmonized approach in the implementation of robust anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures in the region.
He noted that since the inception of GIABA progress has been made through regional activities, technical assistance to ECOWAS States, training programs for different actors in the fight against these scourges and that these operations have helped to promote best practices to robustly deal with ML and TF.
“GIABA has helped to reverse the ever increasing corrupt tendencies of politically exposed persons, drug and child traffickers, etc that led to ML. One can not quantify or aggregate the achievement in the fight on ML and FT but the structures in place across the sub-region have helped to reduce the menace drastically.”
FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE CENTRE – GHANA
On his part the Chief Executive of Ghana’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), Samuel Thompson Essel, stated that Ghana with support from GIABA last year was able to stop the laundering of $2.8 million through various financial outlets in Ghana and was also in the process of confiscating properties of persons who have engaged in various activities that are associated with this trend.
Ghana’s Parliament in 2011 adopted a Legislative Instrument (LI) to regulate the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2008 (Act 749) enacted to track criminals and financiers of terrorist activities.
“The FIC has also created the awareness on the subject among policy makers, civil society, media, youth and academia for them to understand the subject and help to address the challenges.”
“We want to have money but I everyone I believe wants us to have clean money for the good of society hence the need for GIABA, FIC and all and sundry to deepen the crusade on ML and TF,” he indicated.
19th Plenary
At the May Plenary, the draft Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) of the Republic of São Tomé and Principe (STP) will be discussed with a view to its adoption. The adoption of the MER of STP will bring to a close the GIABA first round of mutual evaluations of its 16 member States (15 ECOWAS countries + STP) which commenced in 2006.
Also, the Follow-up Reports of nine member States based on the Secretariat analyses will be discussed with emphasis on the extent of implementation of the recommendations in their MER.
In effect, the 19th Plenary Meeting of the Technical Commission will reviewed the recommendations made by the Working Group on Mutual Evaluation and Implementation (WGMEI) that also discussed the follow-up reports of Benin, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo that are on the expedited regular follow-up process and those of Cape Verde. Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone, are currently placed on the enhanced follow-up program.
Also in line with the GIABA Mutual Evaluation Processes and Procedures, the follow-up process is designed to assist member States to step up measures to address the identified deficiencies contained in their MERs. It also ensures that effective AML/CFT measures are put in place in compliance with acceptable international standards.
Other key items on the Agenda of the Plenary include, the consideration of GIABA's 2012 Monitoring and Evaluation Report, the review of country summary reports and the typology project on terrorism and financing of terrorism in West Africa, round-table with development partners as well as issues and proposals emanating from the 18th Plenary Meeting of GIABA's Technical Commission.
About GIABA
GIABA was established on 10 December 1999 by a decision of the Authority of Heads of State and government of the ECOWAS. GIABA's mandate was revised in January 2006 to fully incorporate and properly reflect the imperative to fight the financing of terrorism.
GIABA members acknowledge that money laundering and financing of terrorism are issues of critical importance to the world community which require global action and that the economies and financial systems of the countries need to be protected from laundered money and proceeds from terrorist activities. GIABA members recognize that West Africa needs to address these issues and find global solutions to them.
GIABA became an Associate Member of the FATF in June 2010.
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| A cross section of the media during the press confab |
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