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| A vigilant Dr Abdullahi Shehu says anti-money laundering laws must be re-examine |
Dr Abdullahi Shehu
has observed that the current Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of
Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework may force money launderers and extremist groups
to make frequent tactical changes and thus produces more grievances or fertile
grounds for the recruitment of new set of criminals.
As a result, the
Director General of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money
Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) is calling for a re-examining of
laws against money laundering and financing of terrorism in the sub-region.
He was presenting a
paper on the challenges of implementing counter-financing of terrorism
regimes in West Africa during a Dec 11-13, 2012 training workshop on AML/CFT
for North and West African states organised by the Swiss Confederation and the
Federal Republic of Nigeria in collaboration with GIABA, in Abuja, Nigeria.
“Most parts of the
AML/CFT framework of countries in the sub-region are products of imperfect and
incomplete information, hence the need to establish and address the root causes
of terrorism to ensure the successes recorded by the AML/CFT framework are
enduring, Dr Shehu said.
There is a need to
re-examine the anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism
(AML/CFT) measures in West African countries to ensure they do not induce
superficial compliance by countries, said the director general of the
Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa
(GIABA), Dr Abdullahi Shehu.
“The benefits of
implementing effective AML/CFT regimes are enormous,” he argued, “GIABA will
continue to support its members to implement effective AML/CFT measures that
facilitate optimal deployment of resources and proper sequencing of
intervention activities.”
He also stress that
the adoption of international AML/CFT standards is not the “magic wand” towards
eradicating money laundering and financing terrorism, but they are milestones
towards building enabling framework that would provide the roadmap for
achieving the ultimate goal of a crime-free society.
Gambia’s
sub-standard law
On June 27, the
Gambia Government toughened the law against money laundering and financing of
terrorism following the National Assembly’s endorsement of the “Anti-Money
Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Bill 2012.”
The new law is
rather meant to fight “more effectively” crimes of money laundering and terrorism
financing. It states that an individual who is liable in a case of money
laundering offences shall be sentenced to a jail term of not less than 10
years.
In the case of a
corporate body, it shall be fined nothing less than D10 million (over US$357,000) or an order for the revocation
of the license of that organisation.
In 2003, The Gambia
enacted the “Money Laundering Act” which designated only 13 predicate offences
for money laundering instead of the minimum 20 designated categories as
recommended by Financial Action Task Force (FATF),
recommendations that establishes a comprehensive, integrated and
impact-oriented approach in the fight against money laundering and terrorist
financing.
The same 2003 Act
also fall short of international standards as it did not include counter
terrorist financing measures. It neither aligns thresholds for money
laundering offences with international best practices nor was the name (Money
Laundering Act 2003) appropriate as it runs contrary to the intended purposes.
The Gambia, like
her peers in the West African sub-region, is exposed to the risks of money
laundering due to the porous borders, weak controls, the dominance of cash
transactions, drug-related and other criminal flows.
GIABA is an arm of
the sub-regional economic bloc, ECOWAS, was established 12 years ago to fight
money laundering and terrorist financing in West Africa. The Dakar-based
institution is mandated to develop strategies and mechanisms for the prevention
and control of the twin crimes in the sub-region.
Written by Modou S. Joof
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