fic - Events

Three-phase capacity building program for the Financial Intelligence Centre,

Three-phase capacity building program for the Financial Intelligence Centre,

As part of the German Government’s initiative to support sustainable developments of
economies worldwide, giz developed a three-phase capacity building program for the Financial
Intelligence Centre, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Law Enforcement Agencies
(Office of the Special Prosecutor, Economic and Organised Crime Office and Ghana Police
Service) in Ghana.
The first-phase which took place from the 15 th -19 th April, 2024 included topics such as defining
the concept of money laundering and related predications, insider trading, civil forfeiture,
conducting effective financial investigations, qualities of a good interviewer, whistleblower
protection, sources of information, role of registries in investigating financial crime and
international cooperation.
The second-phase which was from 24 th - 28 th June, 2024 sought to deepen the understanding of
the same participants who attended the first phase of the programme on topical issues such as;
preparing and planning financial crime investigations, forensic accounting / auditing in litigation
cases, interviewing suspects, cross examinations, presenting direct and indirect evidence in court,
preserving and presenting digital evidence among others.
The third-phase which is to be scheduled in a later period would take the form of mentorship or
coaching. Facilitators would provide support to participants through coaching; by this act,
participants would help facilitators to understand their challenges on the job as they try to assist
them to overcome some of these challenges by providing practical and actionable solutions.

Building a United Front: GIABA Trains Civil Society in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing

Building a United Front: GIABA Trains Civil Society in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing

The Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), a specialized institution of the ECOWAS with the mandate to protect the economies of West African member States from the effects of money laundering and terrorist financing has over the years collaborated with many stakeholders, including the civil society organisations to achieve its set objectives.

GIABA organized a three (3) day workshop from 4^th -6^th June, 2024 for capacity building for the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).

At the end of the workshop, the following objectives were achieved:

participants were sensitized on the dangers and consequences of ML / TF in the region;
participants were exposed to strategies and techniques CSOs could use for engagement in order to effectively fight against ML/TF;
capacities of participants were strengthened to fight against ML / TF;
participants were sensitized to carry out advocacy in order to influence the effective implementation of AML / CFT mechanisms at both national and regional levels;
participants were encouraged to build solid networks of West African CSOs committed to the cause of AML / CFT.

The involvement of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) is crucial in the fight against ML/TF. Thus, the workshop was to step up public awareness, open dialogue for effective and sustainable advocacy across the region and to ensure that CSOs deliver on their mandate without fear of intimidation.

The workshop drew participation from all the ECOWAS countries with the exception of CAPE Verde. Apart from Mr. Edwin W. Harris Jnr, the Director General of GIABA, Mr. Kwaku Dua, the Chief Executive Officer, Honorable Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney General and the Director of Social Welfare were ably represented at the opening ceremony.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Kwaku Dua, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial intelligence Centre indicated that, as part of the country’s preparation towards the 3^rd Round of Mutual Evaluation, Ghana has begun the conduct of its Second National Risk Assessment exercise to assess its risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. The second NRA has sixteen (16) Working Groups looking at the various sectors of the economy to assess existing threats and vulnerabilities that presents a convenient platform for money laundering and terrorist financing to thrive. He further acknowledged that the role of CSOs particularly in the active participation in AML/CFT or its associated predicate offences could not be over emphasized and therefore the need for governments to continuously support the activities of CSOs.

In another development, Mr. Dua intimated that these CSOs often complain of restrictive laws posed by the governments, digital space surveillance, arrest and detention of civic actors, forced office closures, obstruction of protests and counter-protests against organizations and individuals and concluded that there was the need for governments to support CSOs so that they could pursue their advocacy roles without fear of victimization or terror by any national or regional governments.

Second National Risk Assessment

Second National Risk Assessment

From 12^th – 16^th February, 2024, Ghana launched its Second National Risk Assessment blueprint. The World Bank Tool would be used for the Second National Risk Assessment with focus on sixteen (16) areas including some specific sectors within the economy. The sixteen (16) areas would include assessing national threats, national vulnerabilities, banking sector, securities sector, insurance sector, other financial institutions vulnerabilities, financial inclusion, designated non-financial businesses and professions, terrorist financing, legal persons and legal arrangements, Non-Profit Organization sector, proliferation financing, environmental crime, other sector of material and strategic importance, virtual asset service providers and tax crimes.

In attendance were one hundred and fifty (150) participants drawn from law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, Civil Society Organisations, public and private institutions. The Director -General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rev. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, the Registrar-General, Mrs. Jemima Oware, the Chief Executive Officer of the FIC, Mr. Kwaku Dua, the Acting Commissioner of Insurance, Mr. Michael Kofi Andoh, the Director of Policy and Research, GIABA, Mr. Muazu Umar, and representative from the Attorney General’s Department graced the opening session.

The key note speaker was the second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mrs. Elsie Awadzie, who underscored the importance of the assessment and encouraged participants to show commitment throughout the assessment process. She highlighted some of the stringent measures the country undertook in order to be taken off the FATF “Grey List” and informed participants that the findings of the National Risk Assessment would be used to evaluate the robustness of Ghana’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime for the upcoming Mutual Evaluation Exercise in 2025.

The 36th Technical Commission/Plenary and 24th Ministerial Committee Meeting off the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA)

The 36th Technical Commission/Plenary and 24th Ministerial Committee Meeting off the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA)

Date: February 13-19, 2022

Venue: Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, Accra-Ghana

Brief:

The Technical Commission/Plenary meeting and the Ministerial Committee Meeting will be held in a hybrid mode (virtual and in-person) from February 13 to 19, 2022.This is second time Ghana is hosting the Plenary, which happened in 2013.

Convening twice a year, the technical commission/plenary provides a forum for discussions among technical experts from the ECOWAS member states of the threats and challenges associated with ML/TF&P in the sub-region. The plenary also presents the opportunity for building partnerships and deepening collaboration in a concerted and harmonized manner for the effective implementation of AML/CFT measures.

Discussions at this 36th Technical Commission/Plenary will focus on the 2nd round MER of Guinea Bissau, Follow-up reports of some member states and various topologies and other research studies conducted by GIABA and FATF. On the other hand, the 24th Ministerial Committee Meeting, the highest policy and decision-making body of GIABA will among others, consider and adopt the Director-Generals Activity report, reports of the technical Commission and the 2nd Round Mutual Evaluation Report of Guinea Bissau

Three-phase capacity building program for the Financial Intelligence Centre,

Three-phase capacity building program for the Financial Intelligence Centre,

Building a United Front: GIABA Trains Civil Society in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing

Building a United Front: GIABA Trains Civil Society in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing

Second National Risk Assessment

Second National Risk Assessment

The 36th Technical Commission/Plenary and 24th Ministerial Committee Meeting off the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA)

The 36th Technical Commission/Plenary and 24th Ministerial Committee Meeting off the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA)

The 36th Technical Commission/Plenary and 24th Ministerial Committee Meeting off the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA)

Subcategories

CAPACITY BUILDING