Africa adopts draft on money laundering
By CHARLES KIZIGHA, Daily News,September 20, 2006
Representatives from various African countries have adopted an African Development Bank's draft on Strategy for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing on the continent.
However, the participants from Senegal, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Mauritius, Bahrain, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank reviewed the draft, which is scheduled to be presented to the bank's Board in December, this year, and will be ready for implementation during the first quota of next year.
The Executive Secretary of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMG), Dr Eliawony J. Kisanga, told the Daily News after a two-day meeting in Dar es Salaam that according to the strategy, the bank will offer technical and financial assistance needed to curb money laundering and financing terrorism (ML/FT).
He said the bank will facilitate capacity building initiatives in collaboration with other international organisations and development agencies, and support research on the nature of ML/FT activities and their impact on financial institutions as well as studies on the linkages between corruption and ML.
Dr Kisanga said AfDB will develop and maintain an up-to-date web-accessible electronic database of conventions, treaties, regional plans of action and political declarations, technical assistance tools, national legislations and best practices related to AML/CFT that are relevant to Africa.
The AfDB Manager Governance Division, Mr Gabriel Negatu, said in an exclusive interview that the strategy is aimed at, among other things, to ensure that the money it lends is used for its intended purposes and not subjected to abuse, corruption or money laundering.
He said: "Financial institutions, banks, bureaux de change have to remember these: '“know your clients'. When a customer deposits one million dollars into his/her account, the bank should take trouble to gather information about such a client for better use."
Mr Negatu said financial institutions should not keep anonymous accounts or accounts in obviously fictitious names.
He further said countries should make laws that will enable competent authorities to confiscate property laundered, instrumentalities used in the commission of any money laundering offence, or property of corresponding value.