Press Release

The Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), a specialized Institution of ECOWAS has concluded the Regional Sensitization Workshop on AML/CFT for Civil Society Organizations in West Africa held at Fiesta Royale Hotel, Accra, Ghana from 4^th – 6^th June 2024.

The objectives of the workshop is aimed to (i) sensitize the civil society of experiences and knowledge on AML/CFT issues within the sub-region; and (iv) enhance the capacity of CSOs thereby empowering them to take ownership of the fight against ML/TF.

The workshop was attended by thirty-five (35) representatives of the civil society organizations (CSOs) from GIABA member States, resource persons, Ghanaian national authorities, as well as the media.

The Opening Ceremony, held on June 4 2024, was attended by Mr Edwin W Harris Jr, the Director General of GIABA, Madam Diana Asonaba Dapaah, the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and Madam Lucy Abebrese, the Head of Compliance at the Financial intelligence Centre (FIC) who represented the Director of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and GIABA National Correspondent for Ghana.

The Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Madam Diana Asonaba Dapaah who declared the event opened commended GIABA for its impact over the years, stating that the sub-region was greatly challenged and required sustained awareness creation, due to the ever-changing strategies and dynamics of the perpetrators of ML/TF. She said the activities of organized crime often damaged organizations, leaving institutions with no credibility, and affected Foreign Direct Investment, therefore she advised CSOs to be watchful and wide awake to the subtle ways by which these perpetrators approached them, and to enhance their due diligence structures.

In his opening remarks, the Director General of GIABA, Mr Edwin W. Harris Jr emphasized the critical role that CSOs should play in the regional fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. He then urged the participants to use the training as a springboard to deepen their AML/CFT knowledge and participation. Mr Harris acknowledged the tremendous roles that CSOs played in national and global economies, but said unfortunately, most of them turned out as conduits for perpetuating ML/TF, which were increasingly linked to organized crimes, posing a growing threat to consumers, businesses and government alike, stressing that the global nature of economic and financial crimes were such that no nation could fight them alone, making international cooperation and working closely with key allies a crucial part of the response.

In a welcoming address, the representative of the Ghana Financial Intelligence Centre and GIABA National Correspondence of Ghana, Madam Lucy Abebrese, the Head of Compliance at the Financial intelligence Centre (FIC), applauded GIABA for the commendable step to build the capacities of CSOs in the region, saying, the workshop would re-echo their strategic importance, so they would continue to actively participate and influence governments to apply focused and proportionate measures in a risk-based approach towards the subject matter.

Fundamentally, one of GIABA’s strategic goals is the promotion of strategic partnerships with the private sector, civil society and other key stakeholders. The Workshop would build on the previous recommendations from the last session and come up with solutions on how to effectively convey the role of GIABA in assisting member States in implementing effective AML/CFT regime in line with the International standards and reaffirm the collaboration of the civil society in delivering sensitization to the public.

The involvement of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) is crucial in the fight against ML/TF. Thus, this workshop is expected to step up public awareness, effective and sustainable pressure, which are key driving forces in highlighting the efforts already deployed by GIABA in assisting its member States to address the problem of ML/TF. In an environment where political leaders and decision-makers need to be sensitized and involved to fight against ML/TF, the Civil Society would be the backbone for such advocacy and change.

The broad themes of the seminar include: Understanding the Mandate, Role, Activities, challenges and perspectives of GIABAas a Regional Body; International AML/CFT Measures: Implications for West Africa; Roles and Expectations of Civil Society in the Fight against ML/TF; Advocacy Strategies for engaging policy makers and stakeholders by CSOs in the fight against Trans-National Organized Crimes; Understanding National ML/TF Risk Assessment Framework ; Civil Society collaboration and Information Sharing; CSO as new watch dog and Strategies for Networking amongst Civil Society Organizations in implementing robust AML/CFT regime in West Africa amongst others.

The training workshop was delivered by Resource persons and experts and GIABA  through presentations and sharing sessions.

At the end of the session, Participants issued a communiqué with the following recommendations to help in the fight against  money laundering and terrorist financing cases;

• Increase the participation of CSOs in the fight against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) in Member States and at the regional level.

GIABA should:

·          prepare AML/CFT modules for inclusion in school curricula at different levels, as well as seek partnerships for their implementation

·         continue organising the Workshop to reach more national CSOs.

·         sustain grants support targeted at CSO sectoral groups.

Highlight of the event was the induction of new members into the existing network of AML/CFT CSOs in West Africa.