Annual Reports
Annual Report 2014
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Fourteen years after the establishment of GIABA, the emergence of terrorist groups conquering and holding territories, and controlling substantial financial and logistical resources, demonstrates the appropriateness of the vision and relevance of the decision of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government to create, in the year 2000, a Specialized Institution of ECOWAS responsible for combating money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF). Indeed, combating transnational organized crime, in particular terrorism is now a top ECOWAS priority.
The security of member States, beyond a necessity, is an exigency in the search for stability and peace, which are fundamental factors for sustainable development in the region. Accordingly, GIABA’S role is now more than crucial in the search for optimal conditions conducive to job- and wealth-creating investments, which in turn sustain our ambitions for stronger economic growth in the ECOWAS area.
Combating money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction should be geared not only towards ensuring the security of the financial systems of states, but also towards promoting and driving their development. Thus, to contribute to this effort at improving the welfare of the ECOWAS populace, GIABA’s activity for 2014 focused on four (4) major aspects:
1) Assisting member States both in the establishment of national AML/CFT regimes, and in enhancing the capacity of their national actors responsible for their implementation;
2) Facilitating exchanges and pooling gains as well as expertise acquired in order to consolidate progress and facilitate the improvement of the effectiveness of actions taken;
3) Pursuing self-evaluation exercises in member States as well as capacity-building of stakeholders in order to determine the level of compliance and effectiveness of national AML/CFT regimes in line with international standards, on one hand, and empowering member States to achieve more significant and substantial results, on the other;
4) Supporting member States in further fostering and strengthening regional and international cooperation.
The analysis of the results obtained in the implementation of these four aspects reveals that, in spite of the substantial progress made, a considerable and diversified number of challenges still need to be tackled. An assessment of the implementation should therefore provide the basis for the design of a new Strategic Plan outlining, in the short and medium term, priority actions that are expected to help in the establishment of more reliable and efficient AML/CFT regimes.
It is to be hoped that the information given in this report will provide each and every one an opportunity to assess and understand the constraints that impacted GIABA’s overall performance and the weaknesses of member States with respect to the number of convictions and the freezing and confiscating of assets belonging to perpetrators of economic and financial crimes. The quest for effectiveness, which constitutes the key aim of our new strategic plan, will allow member States, by effectively implementing it, to achieve more significant results.
In addition to the introductory information contained in this chapter, the presentation of the general AML/CFT framework in West Africa (Chapter Two) and the summary of member States’ follow-up reports (Chapter Three), this report describes the typologies and other research activities implemented in the year (Chapter Four), and the essential technical assistance (TA) given by GIABA to member States (Chapter Five).
Activities relating to advocacy and civil society outreach are described in Chapter Six, while those relating to regional and international cooperation are presented in Chapter Seven. Chapter Eight deals with administrative issues and support services, as well as monitoring and evaluation activities. Finally, Chapter Nine addresses future challenges and prospects.