Prez Orders Reactivation Of Anti-Money Laundering Body

Mr Martin Amidu (standing), Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, addressing participants in the GIABA/FIC Open House Forum in Accra.

President John Evans Atta Mills has directed the reactivation of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).

The committee — comprising the ministers of Finance and Economic Planning, the Interior, and Justice, the National Security Co-ordinator and a Deputy Chief of Staff — is to ensure the implementation of the National Strategy and Action Plan on the elimination of money laundering and terrorism financing.

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Martin Amidu, who made this known, said the reactivation of the inter-ministerial committee confirmed the government’s commitment to ensure that “money laundering and terrorism financing are eliminated in Ghana”.

He was speaking at an open house forum on AML/CFT organised by the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) for youth in Accra yesterday. It was held on the theme: 'The role of the youth in combating transnational organised crime'.

GIABA is a specialised institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which is responsible for the prevention and control of money laundering and terrorism financing in the sub-region. The forum was to educate the youth on the effects of money laundering and terrorism financing. It sought their support in fighting the menace.

Mr Amidu said the national strategy and action plan on money laundering and terrorism financing, which was prepared by Ghana with the assistance of GIABA, “are concrete measures taken by government to put in place a robust anti-money laundering regime in Ghana”.

He, therefore, urged stakeholders, including the ministries, departments, financial institutions and the youth to collaborate to fight money laundering, terrorism financing and other transnational organised crimes.

Mr Amidu said, Ghana scored only two compliant indicators out of 49 of GIABA’s assessment of Ghana’s compliance with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF’s) recommendations on AML/CFT.

Besides, he said, some of the issues raised in the GIABA Mutual Evaluation Report on Ghana bordered on the enactment of appropriate laws commensurate with international best practice.

The Attorney-General said ever since, the Ministry of Justice had tried to get the Economic and Organised Crime Act, 2010 (Act 804) and the Mutual Legal Assistance Act, 2010 (Act 807) enacted.

In addition, he said, on February 23, this year, the Ministry of Justice in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning laid the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations in Parliament, and also submitted the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime to Parliament for ratification.

The Director-General of GIABA, Dr Abdullahi Shehu, stressed the need for states in West Africa to work together to combat money laundering and terrorism financing and protect the world economies against criminal infiltration, enhance the rule of law and maintain regional peace and security.

He said since 2005 when GIABA became fully operational, considerable progress had been made through regional activities, technical assistance to member countries and training programmes for different actors and sectors involved in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.

The acting Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Intelligence Centre, Ghana, Mr S. T. Essel, mentioned embezzlement of funds, corruption, visa contracting and racketeering as some of the offences committed by the youth, and called for a collaborative effort to reverse the trend.

At the end of the forum, the youth issued a communiqué which recommended the development of a strategy to involve the youth in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.