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EFCC And Money Laundering In West Africa By Ibrahim Balarabe (Public Affairs Unit, EFCC)
The mandate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) among other things, include the fight against money laundering, classified as financial crime by the laws establishing the commission, so also is that of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in Africa (GIABA), which is a body created by the collective efforts of the African countries to curb the menace of money laundering believed to be seriously undermining the economic development of the African continent. The group mostly relies on bodies such as the EFCC, which are established by various African countries to collate data and information on the above mentioned crime and criminals alleged to be involved in it.
It is this symbiotic relationships, at least those of money laundering and financing of terrorism between these two bodies, that we intend to highlight for the benefit of our readers and those interested in the bodies’ activities, whose aims and objectives I believe, are to rid our continent of economic crimes which to my understanding, act as impediments to our much needed development and progress. The devastating effects of crimes such as money laundering and financing of terrorism especially on the socio-economic growth of Africa, no doubt contributes to the creation of instability and insecurity, which in turn hampers development much needed to catapult our continent to such a great height to be reckoned with within the comity of nations that are respected for their self sustenance and ability to carter for the welfare of their peoples, without going cap in hand to other nations begging for loans and what to feed them.
Although the concept of money laundering was not widely known in the West African sub-region until relatively recently, members of the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) were in 1988 called upon to sign an agreement to engage in the fight against this crime and based upon information received from more developed countries, Africans themselves became convinced that the fight against money laundering was justified on several grounds one of which was recently highlighted at a meeting of inter-governmental action group against money laundering in Africa held at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja.
According to the Administrative Secretary of GIABA, Nigeria’s Mrs. Obla Ojeka-Eje, sub Saharan Africa is estimated to have over six million illicit arms in circulation and that more than 60 per cent of these arms, are said to be in circulation in the West African sub-region and as many of us are aware, these misplaced arms contribute immensely to the incessant wars that are devastating our countries which is a fall out from the crime of money laundering. Problems of war as witnessed in Sierra-Leone, Liberia, Guinea Bissau, et cetera may serve as examples here.
One may wonder who the suppliers of these deadly weapons are and what is their source of finance, but the answer to this question is not to be far fetched. Experts tell us that money laundering is behind this dastardly act and by so doing, the launderers found a way of recycling their dirty money and making huge profits. The launderers we are told, are also involved in other heinous crimes which include human and drug trafficking that increasingly destroys the lives of our youth and make them virtually unproductive.
The siphoning of huge sums of monies by corrupt political persons amongst us is another disturbing problem which also encourages money laundering, since it is the only convenient way these corrupt persons can hide the source of their ill-gotten wealth and hope to enjoy it. They live like kings, damning the rest of us and making our countries turn to beggar nations, as a result, ending up receiving a lot of humiliation from the so called developed nations who plan for Africa’s down fall and swim in perpetual sea of poverty.
Speaking at a recently organized conference by GIABA in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, speakers representing member states, which include Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone, one by one, stressed the importance of bodies like the EFCC in their various countries. They talked about the relevance of creating similar bodies to the EFCC ( for those of them that are yet to have one) so that they assist them monitor what is actually happening in respect of economic and financial crimes in their countries with the intention of nipping the problems in the bud.
The relationship between EFCC and money laundering in Africa, as our topic suggests, is that which fosters on the fact that the EFCC being a body created in Nigeria with arguably a very high proportion of money laundering crime in the whole of African continent, has a lot to share with sister African countries both in techniques and intelligence which border on the ability to detect the commission of the crimes.
Putting more seriousness in its fight against the menace of money laundering, the federal government of Nigeria through the EFCC set up the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) which operates as an autonomous central national agency responsible for receiving and analyzing currency transaction reports (CTRs) and suspicious transactions reports (STRs), from financial institutions and designated non-financial institutions with a view to disseminating intelligence information arising thereof to law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders.
The advantages for establishing the NFIU includes among other things veritable mechanisms for fighting economic and financial crimes in Nigeria, combating money laundering and financing of terrorism, enhancing the effectiveness of the EFCC in the detection and prevention of financial crimes. Other advantages are facilitating compliance with some of the requirements of financial sector assessment program (FSAP) of the International Monetary and the Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The NFIU reports are also expected to serve as credible resource input to the country’s national policies.
It is therefore pertinent to notice that the EFCC as well as the authorities in the West African sub region are really serious about the fight against corruption especially that related to money laundering and financing of terrorism within the sub region, the continent of Africa and the world in general. The efforts of both the governments of the member countries of GIABA and the EFCC in combating this heinous crime for the purpose of the progress and positive development of our beloved continent cannot be over emphasized.
In a final report submitted at the end of the above mentioned GIABA meeting in Abuja, it was stated that the objective of the meeting was to devise a common direction and means to articulate a more concerned regional approach to the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism. Similarly the President of the ad hoc ministerial committee, Mr. Ousmane N’gom represented by Senegal Ambassador to Nigeria Mr. Alioune Diagne, indicated that to achieve its objectives, GIABA should ensure that appropriate measures are taken against money laundering and terrorist financing in a harmonized and concerted manner, evaluate progress made, as well as the effectiveness of the control measures.
It should also be noted that due to the seriousness of GIABA in its crusade against money laundering and financing of terrorism in the African continent, the body gained an observer status at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and has already participated at two of its plenary sessions.
In conclusion we should emphasize the need for all right minded persons to assist both the EFCC and GIABA in their battle against this monster called corruption and to also understand that the amount of money being laundered in the West African sub region alone totals to billions of Naira. We should also emphasize that as a result of the concerted effort put by the EFCC in tackling the menace of financial crimes in Nigeria, most fraudsters have found new havens in other African countries hence the need to smoke them out by putting more pressure on them.
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