PHOTO: Participants at the five-day workshop
By Alfred Kollie, alfredkolliejr92@gmail.com
The Inter- Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) has begun a five-day round table discussion with experts in the financial sector on money laundering and terrorism financing in Monrovia, Liberia
The discussion is bringing together representatives from government agencies, insurance, legal, banking, gambling and hospitality sectors.
The Pre-Assessment Workshop on the second round of Mutual Evaluation of Liberia’s anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing regime by GIABA is bringing together sixty-five participants as stakeholders within Liberia’s AML/CFT regime.
Speaking at start of the five-day workshop, GIABA Director General Justice Kimelabalou Aba said the Pre- Assessment Workshop is the first step into Liberia’s second round of mutual evaluation that culminates with onsite visitation in February 2022.
According to Justice Aba, the First Round of Mutual Evaluation of Liberia was conducted by GIABA in 2010, with Liberia getting a poor rating and placed on a regular follow up reporting process.
He explained that the second round of Mutual Evaluation on Liberia will focus on Liberia’s technical compliance to FATF Forty plus Recommendations and the effectiveness of the Law Effective Compliance and how well the laws are used in preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.
Justice Aba however, commended government through the Financial Intelligence Unit of Liberia for their commitment in the fight against money laundering and counterterrorist financing, strengthen of institutions, enactment of legislations as progress.
He explained that the result from the 2010 Mutual Evaluation saw the establishment of the FIU in 2012 and approved in 2013 also the enactment of several legislations creating the legal and structural framework to fight money laundering, terrorist financing, the proliferation of weapon of mass destruction and other transnational crimes in Liberia.
Delivering the keynote address the at the beginning of the discussion, Deputy Finance Minister for Debt Management, Augustus Flomo, re-affirmed government’s commitment in combating money laundering and terrorism financing in the West African region.
Minister Flomo noted that as a demonstration of the seriousness of the government’s commitment, a bill has been forwarded to the national legislature for passage in order to strengthen the laws against money laundering and terrorism financing.
For his part, the Director General of the Financial Intelligence Unit, Edwin Harris called on stakeholders to get involve in combating money laundering and terrorism financing in the region and the World over.
The FIU Director General disclosed that his institution has budgeted 200,000 United States Dollars in order to work along with like-minded entities in combating the money laundering in the country.