Building a United Front: GIABA Trains Civil Society in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing
4 – 6 June 2024
The Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), a specialised institution of ECOWAS with the mandate to protect the economies of West African member states from the effects of money laundering and terrorist financing, has over the years collaborated with many stakeholders, including civil society organisations, to achieve its objectives. GIABA organised a three-day workshop from 4th–6th June 2024 for capacity building for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).
The workshop drew participation from all ECOWAS countries with the exception of Cape Verde. Mr Edwin W. Harris Jnr, the Director-General of GIABA, Mr Kwaku Dua, the Chief Executive Officer of the FIC, Honourable Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney General, and the Director of Social Welfare were ably represented at the opening ceremony.
In his opening remarks, Mr Kwaku Dua, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Intelligence Centre, indicated that as part of the country's preparation towards the 3rd Round of Mutual Evaluation, Ghana had begun conducting its Second National Risk Assessment exercise to assess its risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. The second NRA has sixteen (16) Working Groups looking at various sectors of the economy to assess existing threats and vulnerabilities that present a convenient platform for money laundering and terrorist financing to thrive. He further acknowledged the role of CSOs in the active fight against AML/CFT and its associated predicate offences, and the need for governments to continuously support their activities.
In another development, Mr Dua noted that these CSOs often complain of restrictive laws posed by governments, digital space surveillance, arrest and detention of civic actors, and forced office closures.