Skip to main content

Terrorists financing reduced in West Africa in 2018 – ECOWAS

The Inter-Governmental Action against Money Laundering and Terrorists Financing in West Africa (GIABA), has observed a reduction in terrorists financing and money laundering activities among member countries of ECOWAS in 2018.

GIABA is an institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) established in 2000 to combat terrorists financing and fight against money laundering across West Africa.

GIABAs Information Manager in Nigeria, Mr Timothy Melaye, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)on Wednesday in Lagos thatmore countries had compliedwith the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2018.

In 2018, GIABA had again demonstrated its commitment to support countries in West Africa in the fight against money laundering and terrorists financing.

ECOWAS member countries did well last year in the fight against money laundering and terrorists financing in their countries.

Many of these countries have enacted laws, and today, these countries have different anti-money laundering regimes that are now becoming stronger and stronger.

Though we are awaiting statistics from these engagements, it is no longer an easy task for people to launder money again due to the systems on ground, he said.

Melaye said that GIABA had in 2018 embarked on advocacy visits to raise awareness and support for national authorities in fighting against money laundering and terrorists financing in their countries.

GIABAs information manager also said that the organisation had also embarked on mutual evaluation of more West African countries, including Senegal, Cape Verde and Burkina Faso.

And in the course of carrying out our mutual evaluation, we have discovered the compliance of few more countries.

We have discovered that the movement of money across different countries is now increasingly becoming difficult because of the systems in place.

We have even discovered that people now keep large sums of money in their homes because of the strong systems being put in place by the different countries of ECOWAS, he said.

The Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) is a specialised institution of the Economic Community of West African States responsible for facilitating the adoption and implementation of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (CFT) in West Africa.

GIABA was established in 2000 and has its headquarters in Dakar, Senegal. It consists of 17 member states.

ridoola.blogspot.com.ng

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Okpebholo suspends A-G & LG Chair under 3 months over finance dealings

The Edo Government has announced the suspension of Samson Osagie , its Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, and Damian Lawani , chairman of the Local Government Service Commission. Mr Musa Ikhilor , Secretary to the State Government (SSG) announced the suspension in a statement in Benin on Thursday morning. ALSO READ: Kano Govt suspend 2 school principals for alleged absenteeism, negligence Ikhilor said the two-state top officials were suspended over allegations of “grave official and financial interactions”. Okpebholo suspends Edo Attorney-General and LG Service Commission Chairman According to him, the suspension, which takes immediate effect, is pending the conclusion of an investigation into the allegations. The SSG said; It is hereby announced for the information of the general public that Gov. Monday Okpebholo has approved the suspension from office of the Chairman of Edo Local Government Service Commission, Damian Lawani and Commissioner for Justice, Samson Os...

Tinubu appoints MKO Abiola's son, Jamiu as SSA on Linguistics & Foreign Matters

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jamiu Abiola as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Linguistics and Foreign Matters. The appointee is one of the children of the late Chief Moshood Kolawole Abiola , the winner of the 1993 presidential election annulled by General Ibrahim Babangida . According to a statement by Segun Imohiosen , the Director of Information and Public Relations, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, Jamiu's appointment took effect from November 14, 2024. Imohiosen said the appointment aligns with the provisions of the Certain Political and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc) Act 2008, as amended. Until his recent deployment, the appointee served as the Special Assistant to the President of Special Duties in the office of the Vice President. Tinubu tasked Jamiu to work closely with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and bring his wealth of experience to bear in his new ...

Protesters block East-West road in Rivers, demand action on poverty & hunger

The protesters chose to spotlight the East-west road in the expression of their anger over hunger, poverty and infrastructure deficit in the supposed viable business area. The ongoing nationwide protest, on Monday, spread to the Eleme/Onne section of the East/West Road of Rivers as a large crowd of protesters stormed the popular section connecting the Port Harcourt refineries. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Akpajo axis of the East-West Road, up to the entrance leading to Indorama Petrochemicals, was taken over by angry protesters, who disrupted free vehicular movements. The East-west road is a major route connecting Port Harcourt city to key business facilities, like the Onne seaport, Port Harcourt refineries, Indorama Petrochemicals and more than six Local Government Areas of the state. The protesters, who carried on their activities peacefully, displayed placards with inscriptions, expressing dissatisfaction over the pervasive poverty, hunger and high cost of ...