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| Dr. Abdullahi Shehu |
The
Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA)
has further strengthened its partnership with the media geared towards cleaning
West Africa of the twin crimes of money laundering and terrorist financing.
The
sub-regional institution has recently brought together media practitioners from
various media houses within and outside the West African region at a seminar
dubbed World Press Conference held from 27-28 April in Dakar, Senegal to re-orientate
them about their complementary roles in creating a sub-region devoid of these
transnational crimes which can potentially undermine the economic growth of
sub-region if not properly check on time.
Dr.
Abdullahi Shehu, director general of GIABA said the objectives of the World
Press Conference includes to acquaint the media professionals about regional
initiatives on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing Terrorism (AML/CFT)
framework, especially the mandate of GIABA in its sustained efforts to combat the
twin crimes in the West African sub-region.
“I trust that with our joint efforts, we can
surmount the challenges in the fight against money laundering and counter
financing terrorism,’ he said.
This
year’s conference also involved briefing of Ambassadors of ECOWAS countries in
Senegal on emerging development on AML/CFT issues in the sub-region. This is the third GIABA briefing of
Ambassadors and its part of efforts to motivate and improve on the political
commitment of the GIABA Member States for the implementation of AML/CFT regimes
in the region,
The
director general of GIABA told the ambassadors that so far 13 out of the 15
Members States of have been evaluated.
The
evaluation revealed poor compliance level on the preventive measures to be
taken by Member States in the fight against ML/FT and Dr Shehu said this is a
pointer to the level of vulnerability of the sub-region’s financial systems to
money laundering and other related crimes.
“It
is therefore crucial that national governments are committed to the effective
implementation of AML/CFT measures on a risk-sensitive basis, and ensure
prioritization of actions, as well as resources optimization,” GIABA director
general remarked.
2011
Annual Report
The
2011 Annual Report of GIABA was also presented to the ECOWAS Ambassadors and
the media executives in order to provide them with relevant information about
the activities carried out by the organization.
The 123-page report particularly provides the media delegates a tool to
report on the scourges of money laundering and terrorist financing in the West
African economies.
“I
urge you to take time to read it with especially attention to the analyses of
the money laundering situation and on-going efforts in your countries to combat
it,” Dr Shehu said. “The purpose is for
you to provide informed feedback to your home governments with a view to
strengthening the regional alliance against transnational organized and
deepening the ECOWAS regional integration program.”
Author: Lamin Jahateh, Publisher, Gambia News Online.
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