The Nation Newspaper

Tag: laundering

  • ‘Money laundering, terrorism hurt economy’

    The Director-General,   West African  Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), Prof. Akpan Ekpo, has said money laundering and terrorism damage the political  and socio-economic life of Nigeria.

    He spoke at the 20th anniversary of DataPro, which held in Lagos. According to him, the processes, inter-connectedness and the mechanisms for laundering stolen money are so complex and complicated that  fighting against them requires committed political sagacity.

    “The perpetrators of  money laundering are sometimes those in political power or have access to  political power, thus making efforts at anti- money laundering to  be rudimentary,” he said.

    He added: “It is crucial to build capacity continuously to combat money laundering and its derivatives. It is in this aspect that DataPro and its team have excelled themselves. Men and women responsible for curtailing money laundering must be trained to identify an activity that  looks genuine on the surface, but on further analysis, may have the features of money laundering.”

    The guest speaker and Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, said: “To make any positive impact on the fight against money  laundering and  terrorist financing, there must be global commitment by all  government and  relevant institutions saddled with the responsibility for  pursuit of the  objectives.

    Founder of DataPro, Abimbola Adeseyoju, thanked the guests for their contributions during the discussions, adding: “Today, DataPro is entering another phase in its  development; the age  of maturity. We have resolved more than ever to invest in sustainable practices instead of looking for shortcuts and short term gains. We will remain committed to meeting and exceeding the expectations of   our stakeholders.”

  • ATM cards as new ways of laundering money

    ATM cards as new ways of laundering money

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) recently  arrested two suspects in connection with the smuggling of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

    NDLEA’s spokesman Ofoyeju Mitchell said 40-year-old Nweke Pauline Osita and Egesiokwu Frank Chukwudi, 41, were arrested with ATM cards of different banks.

    “We arrested Nweke Pauline Osita with 65 debit cards and Egesiokwu Frank Chukwudi with twenty-four (24) debit cards during screening of passengers on an Ethiopian airline flight to China,” a statement quoted NDLEA chairman Ahmadu Giade as saying.

    According to Giade, the suspects conspired with others to evade scrutiny from government agencies by opening various bank accounts with the aim of using the debit cards for daily withdrawals abroad.

    Osita, an Onitsha-based trader, who was caught with 65 debit cards said the cards found on him belong to friends and business partners.

    “I am a trader. I sell men’s clothes at Onitsha. I was on my way to China to buy goods when NDLEA officers arrested me with 65 debit cards. The cards belong to my friends, relatives and business partners” Nweke stated.

    The NDLEA chairman has directed that the suspects be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) for further Investigation.

    Officials of the NDLEA also arrested another trader, Udeh Onuora Pascal, who was travelling to China with 108 debit cards.

    “The arrests is an indication that smuggling of debit cards abroad is one of the latest money laundering techniques employed to evade financial regulations,” the NDLEA said.

    Last month, the NDLEA arrested six persons, including a Bureau de Change (BDC) operator, allegedly trying to swallow $156,000 in a money laundering bid.

    The NDLEA Joint Task Force (JTF) smashed the money laundering syndicate in a hotel on Airport Road, Ikeja, Lagos. The suspects are: Kingsley Nwokenta, the BDC operator, who is also known as Buchito, Augustine Onwuasoanya and Christian Ifor, who are based in Brazil, Emmanuel Nwokenta (Amazon BDC manager), Ikenna Ezenwa and Uzoma Ezenwa, the hotel manager.

    Responding to the development, the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) suspended Amazon BDC. The ABCON Executive Council also suspended directors and employees of the company, pending the outcome of the investigations by its Disciplinary and Investigative Committee, the NDLEA,  EFCC and the CBN.

    ABCON President, Aminu Gwadabe, who announced the measures, said the group was shocked and highly embarrassed by the discovery and the involvement of a BDC operator in such an illegal act.

    Gwadabe said: “While this is not to pre-empt the outcome of these investigations, the suspension is to serve as strong warning to all ABCON members that any case of illegality and unethical conduct will be severely dealt with by the association. “We call on all BDC operators not to allow anyone to use their services or license for money laundering or any act of illegality and criminality.”

    He said ABCON has a zero tolerance for non-compliance with regulatory requirement and unethical conduct amongst its members.

    “It for this purpose that the association created the office of Compliance Officer at its National Secretariat and in all its zonal offices and also provided vehicles for the compliance officers to regularly visit BDCs under their jurisdictions,” he said.

    Analysts attributed the rising cases of money laundering through ATM cards to the tight regulatory policy on forex.

    A BDC operator, Michael Abiodun, said that many traders who have naira but are not able to transfer their funds to their foreign suppliers have taken to illegal approaches to get the funds transferred to their foreign business partners.

    He said the ongoing ATM card abuse will continue until the CBN loosens its tight forex policies.

  • How to curb money laundering, terrorist financing

    How to curb money laundering, terrorist financing

    Director-General, International Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), Adama Coulibaly, has said member-countries need strong partnership to check the rising cases of money laundering and terrorist financing in the sub-region.

    Coulibaly, who spoke at a three-day regional sensitisation workshop on Anti-money Laundering/Combating Financing of Terrorism for civil society organisation organised by the International Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), in Lagos, described money laundering as a global problem that not only threatens security, but undermines economic prosperity of countries.

    He said such partnership will make it possible for countries to significantly enhance understanding of various mechanisms designed to combat these crimes.

    “The ultimate goal is to help create in the ECOWAS region not only a strong bulwark against those scourges but also create a conducive environment for investment, as well as for job creation for the benefit of the youth in particular,” he said.

    He said GIABA was established by the Authority of States and Government of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2002 with the mandate to protect the national economies and financial system of member States from abuse and the money laundering of the proceeds of crimes.

    The Director-General, Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Prof Bola Akinterinwa, said money laundering and terrorist financing are impediments to growth of world economies, adding that over the years, government and law enforcement agencies are struggling to handle illicit trafficking of arms and persons, trans-border theft and armed robbery, drugs, narcotics among others.

    He added that the international community is determined to deprive persons engaged in illicit traffic of their criminal proceeds. He urged countries to collaborate with other states and international bodies in sharing information.

    Prof Akinterinwa recommended that banks and financial institutions should know their customers reasonably well; maintain records of their transactions for up to five years and also engage in financial activities as a commercial undertaking be required to disclose information relating to their clients.

     

  • CBN warns against money laundering

    CBN warns against money laundering

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sounded the alert on a new form of money laundering which must be checked now to save the country from international sanctions.

    Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the 2nd Anti-Money Laundering/Combating Financial Terrorism Stakeholders Consultative Workshop organised by the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (ACAMS), the Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability of the (CBN), Dr Okwu Nnanna warned that to curb money laundering in Nigeria, virtual currencies must be regulated.

    He described virtual currency as a type of unregulated, digital money, which is issued and usually controlled by its developers, and is used and accepted among members of a specific community.

    Nnanna lamented that “virtual currency was dangerous because it was not a legal tender of any country hence it has a borderless nature without jurisdiction which makes it a channel for money laundering.”

    Nnanna, who was represented by the Deputy Director in charge of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department of the CBN, Obot Akpan “Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has observed that virtual currency payment products and services (VCPPS) present opportunity for money laundering and other crime risk that must be identified and mitigated. Virtual currencies presents a wide range of issues and challenges that require financial authorities to consider and the challenges posed are unique and call for urgent regulator responses.”

    Earlier, the former Chairman of the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu warned that terrorism and money laundering was contributing significantly to Nigeria’s problem.

    Ribadu said his efforts at combating financial crimes during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration “almost changed the country but things changed after 2007. All that is wrong with Nigeria is dirty money, follow the dirty money, get the criminals and prosecute them.”

  • ‘Why banks should adopt anti-money laundering measures’

    Banks have been  urged to see anti-money laundering (AML/CFT) compliance as obligatory because of the need to insulate banks and other financial institutions against criminal activities.

    Managing Director of DataPro Limited, Mr. Abimbola Adeseyoju, who said this at the January meeting of the Committee of Chief Compliance Officers of Banks in Nigeria (CCCoBIN) sponsored by his company as part of activities to mark 20 years of its existence, added that with AML/CFT compliance the economy will be protected from avoidable crises.

    Adeseyoju wondered “what happens if we build around our banks and institutions around the ‘bad’ guys?

    “When the storm comes, we cannot properly profile out customers. Their loans are not serviced. And they (customers) do not care and simply walk away. That is why we need to do all the Know Your Customer (KYC), Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) Record Keeping, Mandatory and Suspicious Reporting and put in place Processes, Procedures, Policies and Programs,” the DataPro boss said.

    He maintained that the above measures are duties forced on banks as necessary tools for the survival of the banking business, so it is therefore expected that compliance practitioners should obey the law and comply with regulations.

    Adeseyoju warned banks that reputational risks are something that cannot be quantified in naira, adding that compliance is the only provision for reputational risk.  Taking the banks and their compliance officers down memory lane, he said: “Our brand is only as strong as our reputation. The events of August 2009 are still fresh.

    “Compliance or the public perception of some operators moved them notches up to the top of the ladder. Those of us in compliance should therefore, see ourselves as the custodians of our institutions.”

    DataPro is regarded as the leading and most experienced AML/CFT compliance training and consulting firm in Nigeria that offers AML/CFT compliance training services to more than 70 per cent of the banks and other non-bank financial institutions in Nigeria. The firm is a development partner of the Committee of Chief Compliance Officers of Banks in Nigeria (CCCOBIN).

  • AfDB strengthens anti-money laundering scheme

    AfDB strengthens anti-money laundering scheme

    African Development Bank (AfDB’s) Vice-President Aly Abou-Sabaa has said addressing issues of governance, fighting corruption and promoting greater transparency and accountability across both public and private sectors is key to unlocking the full African potential of the continent and ensuring the sustainability of its development.

    In a statement, the bank chief said Africa’s abundance of natural resources in forestry, agriculture, minerals, oil and gas, offer a major opportunity to close the development gap.

    He said a recent research by the bank shows that countries which implemented governance reforms were performing better than non-reforming countries. According to the African Development Effectiveness Review on Governance, published in 2012, reformers benefitted from an additional two percentage points of growth in comparison to non-reformers between the decades 1990-2000 and 2000 to 2008.

    However, while some progress has been achieved towards promoting good governance, there remains a lot of work to be done. “Progress has been uneven and insufficient,” Abou-Sabaa said.

    Speaking at the opening of the conference, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz called for increased cooperation between African countries as well as a multidimensional approach and joint action between government departments, civil society and the private sector in order to effectively fight mismanagement and lack of transparency.

    The lender, he said, is playing a key role in that regard. Its strategy for 2013 to 2022 is articulated around economic transformation, with governance and accountability as a key priority. On top of its Governance Action Plan launched in 2014, the AfDB is currently updating its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing strategy to incorporate illicit financial flows to strengthen its support for African countries in these areas.

    The AfDB has recently set up the African Natural Resources Centre. The aim is to provide dedicated advice, technical assistance and advocacy to African countries to strengthen the institutions managing natural resources, to step up civil society capacity, and increase advocacy efforts in international fora.

    According to a study prepared jointly by the bank and Global Financial Integrity in 2013, between 2000 to 2009, the continent lost some $30.4 billion per annum, an amount mirroring what the continent receives in aid and foreign direct investment.

  • ‘Why money laundering persists in Nigeria’

    Why is Nigeria vulnerable to Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF)? It is because of its economic side, rapid growth, insecurity in the Northeast and corruption, says, the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).

    The agency’s 2013 Annual Report obtained by The Nation said these problems,Nigeria remains the engine of growth in West Africa, adding that it holds the promise of human development in the region.

    GIABA advised against allowing Nigeria’s booming economy and financial system to be corrupted by financial crimes.

    It said so far, weaknesses in investigative and prosecutorial capacity as well as judicial corruption have blocked cases of financial crimes in the courts.

    “As a matter of urgency, the Government of Nigeria should grant the operational autonomy of the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and facilitate the removal of obstacles to effective administration of justice with regard to ML/TF cases in the country,” it said.

    GIABA described Nigeria as a resource-rich country with fast-growing economy. “Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa and the 10th largest in the world, producing about 2.3 million barrels per day, and with 37.2 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. Nigeria’s economy represents about 55 per cent of the region’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and its population constitutes the largest market in Africa,” it said.

    It said the outlook for the country’s economic growth has remained positive. “Real GDP, which sustained the momentum of the past decade, 7.5 per cent average for the last 10 years, is projected to grow by 6.7 per cent in 2013 and 7.3 per cent in 2014.  This growth is driven mainly by the oil and gas sector, which grew by eight per cent and contributes 79 per cent to government revenues and 71 per cent to total export revenue.

    Next to oil and gas is the agriculture sector, which accounts for 30.9 per cent of GDP and employs about 70 per cent of the country’s labour force. The agriculture sector, therefore, holds the prospect of addressing the country’s huge unemployment challenge,” it said.

    GIABA said Nigeria’s economic potential provides opportunity for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

    It said for the second year running, 2011 and 2012, Nigeria was been ranked as the number one destination for FDIs in Africa, and as having the fourth highest rate of returns on investments in the world.

    “Although FDI inflow fell from $8.9 billion in 2011 to $7 billion in 2012, it remained an impressive performance. However, much of the investment is in the ‘enclave’ oil and gas sector and thus holds little potential for generating employment,” it said.

  • ABCON seeks compliance with money laundering law

    The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has said bureau de change (BDC) operators should comply with the anti-money laundering policy being implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Recently, the CBN announced some measures to check money laundering tendencies observed in the foreign exchange market. These include the ban on importation of foreign currencies, and suspension of 20 BDCs for not rendering returns and non-compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.

    ABCON Acting President, Aminu Gwadabe, said the measures of the CBN were in line with the group’s position on compliance with regulatory requirements.

    “When it comes to the issue of non-compliance with regulatory requirements, especially rendering returns as well as compliance with approved limits for foreign exchange transactions, the association has a zero-tolerance position.

    “We have made it known to our members that we would not hesitate to impose sanctions or report to the CBN, any member found guilty of not complying with these requirements. So we are fully in support of the actions of the CBN,” he said.

    He said such action is necessary to ensure sanity in the foreign exchange market, and most importantly the stability of the naira, which is critical to our economy.

  • Panel to fast-track Nigeria’s exit from money laundering list

    Panel to fast-track Nigeria’s exit from money laundering list

    The Federal Government yesterday constituted a committee to fast-track the removal of Nigeria from the list of countries having issues with the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) on Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financing Terrorism regimes.

    The committee, led by Vice President Namadi Sambo, held its maiden meeting yesterday.

    It promised to ensure that Nigeria’s name is removed from the list.

    Sambo said the Goodluck Jonathan administration believed that Nigeria should not remain on the public statement of the FATF with the measures regarding laws and regulations already put in place.

    He said: “I urge you all to work hard towards ensuring that we maintain the integrity of our financial system through effective implementation of laws and regulations against financial improprieties.”

     

     

     

     

  • Court acquits ex-Labour Minister, other of money laundering charges

    Reprieve came the way of former Works and Housing Minister Hassan Lawal and another yesterday as a Federal High Court in Abuja discharged and acquitted them of charges of conspiracy and money laundering.

    Justice Adamu Bello, in a ruling, held that the prosecution failed to prove the “essential elements” of the charge proffered against them.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2011 arraigned Lawal and an official of the United Bank of Africa (UBA), Adesanya Adewale before Justice Bilikisu Aliyu on a 10-count charge of conspiracy and money laundering.

    The case was later reassigned to Justice Bello because Justice Aliyu was transfered outside the Abuja division. The charge was amended to 11 counts.

    Upon the challenge of some portions of the charge by Lawal and Adewale, the court on June 22 last year, struck out counts three, six and nine on ground of duplicity.

    Yesterday, Justice Bello upheld the arguments by Lawal and Adewale on the no-case submission they made shortly after the prosecution closed its case, having called five witnesses and tendered seven documentary evidence.

    Lawal had argued that the money paid on four occasions into his account with UBA were in repayment of a loan he acquired from the bank to buy a residential property in Asokoro from the EFCC.

    The property on 34 Mamman Nasir Street, Off T. Y. Danjuma Street was one of the properties seized from convicted criminals by the EFCC which were later sold to public officers.

    The judge, who queried the quality of investigation conducted by the EFCC, held that the commission failed woefully to prove its case against the accused .

    They were accused of conspiracy and laundering about N43.4million into Lawal’s UBA account between 2008 and 2010.

    The judge held that, to prove the crime of money laundering, they ought to establish that the source of the money allegedly laundered was from crime or illegal act.

    Justice Bello held that having failed to prove that the various sums paid into the account were from criminal or illegal acts, the charge of money laundering can not hold.

    The judge noted that even when Lawal stated in his statement that the monies were from the sale of some of his assets, the EFCC’s investigators failedto investigate the claim.

    The judge also noted that most of the payments were made while Lawal was the Minister of Labour and Productivity, hence the claim that he laundered funds meant for a contract awarded by the Ministry of Works and Housing could not be true.

    The court having held that the EFCC failed to provide sufficient evident to prove its case, Justice Bello discharged and acquitted Lawal and Adewale from the remaining eight counts in the charge.

    “There is therefore no evidence before me to prove the offence of money laundering brought against the accused persons.

    “I have no need to call on them to enter their defence. They are entitled to be discharged. They are hereby discharged and acquitted,” Justice Bello held.