Emerging Money Laundering And Terrorist Financing: GIABA To Hold Regional Virtual Meeting Of Chief Compliance Officers Of Financial Institutions And Designated Non-Financial Businesses & Professions

The Inter-Governmental Action against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) is organizing a one-day Regional Virtual Meeting of Chief Compliance Officers of Financial Institutions and Designated Non-Financial Businesses & Professions (DNFBPs) on Emerging Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Issues in Dakar, Senegal on Wednesday, September 2, 2020. Due to the current situation of COVID-19, the program will be organized virtually through the Zoom platform.

The objectives of the program are 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.

Furthermore, the program is to (i) enhance the capacity of participants on current and emerging ML/TF issues; (ii) raise awareness of participants on relevant recent changes to the FTAF standards; (iii) provide a platform for sharing of experiences, and good practices on AML/CFT issues; and (iv) promote cooperation, coordination, and engagement amongst and between private sector operators on how to implement AML/CFT preventive measures effectively.

A total of one hundred (100) participants are expected to attend the program, including senior-level officials responsible for AML/CFT compliance/risk assessment in financial institutions and DNFBPs across member States.

It would be recalled that the outcome of GIABA’s first and second round of mutual evaluations reveals a generally low level of compliance by reporting entities, owing to several factors, including lack of in-depth understanding of ML/TF risks and insufficient commitment on the part of the management of financial institutions to the implementation of AML/CFT standards.

For low capacity countries like those in GIABA member States, Covid-19 and new developments in technology and other emerging issues such as virtual currencies, fintech, and regtech, add to current challenges and have far-reaching implications for private sector operators (reporting entities), especially in relation to the implementation of AML/CFT.

In light of the above, it would be necessary to bring the critical players in the financial and DNFBP sectors together to discuss: (i) ways of enhancing effective implementation of AML/CFT preventive measures, and (ii) contemporary and emerging AML/CFT issues that impact on AML/CFT regime in the region.

The program will be delivered by regional and international experts and relevant officials of the GIABA Secretariat through presentations, workgroups, and experience sharing.