Ghana removed from money laundering blacklist
A global standard setting body for anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), has removed Ghana from its money laundering blacklist as a result of the country’s efforts in combating the crime.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) backed Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on October 19, 2012 announced that “Ghana has been removed from the FATF’s Public Statement” of the blacklisting.
According to the body, Ghana is largely “addressing its action plan agreed upon with the FATF”.
A statement issued by the FATF said “Since October 2010 when Ghana made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) to address its strategic AML/CFT deficiencies, the country has taken important steps towards improving its AML/CFT regime, including by enacting legislation to criminalize money laundering, establishing and implementing adequate measures for the confiscation of funds related to money laundering, improving customer due diligence measures and enhancing the effectiveness of the Financial Intelligence Unit.”
Ghana has rolled out anti-money laundering guidelines for financial institutions including the banks and insurance companies.
The FATF added it “will conduct an on-site visit to confirm that the process of implementing the required reforms and actions is underway to address deficiencies previously identified by the FATF.”
Ghana on February 16, 2012 was blacklisted as a money-laundering nation for failing to meet international standards by the FATF.
According to the money-laundering watchdog’s report at the time, Ghana was flouting recommendations made to it towards the fight against the menace even though the country has taken steps towards improving its AML/CFT regime including ratifying the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime.
Ghana together with Pakistan, Indonesia, Tanzania and Thailand were the new countries the FATF added to its blacklist.
The blacklist, according to Vice President Amissah-Arthur who was then governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) energized the country to re-double its actions against money laundering.
At a two-day workshop orgainsed by GIABA for Chief Executive Officers and Chief Compliance Officers of financial institutions in ECOWAS Member States late May 2012, Amissah-Arthur stressed that although Ghana had long been committed to the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, with the passage of an AML Act in 2008 and criminalisation of some predicate offences, the downgrading of Ghana by the FATF had energised the country to re-double its efforts to build a robust AML/CFT regime.
Mr Amissah-Arthur said the country had resolved to remove the remaining obstacles which included the implementation and monitoring of AML/CFT strategies pointed out by the report, to help get the country de-listed from the FATF black list in the shortest possible time.
The Ghana Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) at a separate event January 2012 disclosed that since the start of its operations January 4, 2010, it has received a total of 206 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) worth $6 million.
By Ekow Quandzie