The Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) has begun a four-day regional training of chief compliance officers and competent authorities on current and emerging issues in Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF).
The event begins from Monday to Thursday at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja, Nigeria.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and other international standard setters require countries and competent authorities to cooperate domestically and internationally, to effectively prevent the abuse of the financial systems by criminals.
The outcome of GIABA’s second round mutual evaluation reveals a general low performance by the financial sector. This is due to several factors, including insufficient commitment on the part of the management of financial institutions in the implementation of AML/CFT standards.
“There are also weaknesses in the AML/CFT regulatory regime, low capacity, and the lack of effective collaboration and cooperation between regulators and operators in the sector,” a statement from GIABA has said.
The four-day event will provide ways of enhancing partnership and cooperation for effective implementation of AML/CFT preventive measures.
It will also discuss contemporary and emerging ML/TF issues that impact on AML/CFT regime in the region.
The regional meeting will include participants from all West African countries. It aims to provide a platform for participants to share experiences and foster cooperation and collaboration for effective implementation of AML/CFT preventive measures in member States.
The objectives of the programme are: enhance the capacity of participants on current and emerging ML/TF issues; raise awareness of participants on relevant recent changes to the FATF standards; provide a platform for sharing experiences and good practices on AML/CFT issues; and promote cooperation, coordination, and engagement amongst and between relevant competent authorities and private sector operators on how to implement AML/CFT preventive measures effectively.
Participants at the workshop will include senior officials in charge of AML/CFT supervision/compliance from regulatory authorities, Financial Intelligence Units, Chief Compliance Officers from financial institutions (banks, securities, and insurance operators), and designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs). A total of one hundred and forty participants are expected to attend the programme.
The meeting will be addressed by regional and international experts through presentations, work groups, experience sharing, and case studies.
