The Togolese Association of Compliance Officers (ATCO) organized the Great Meeting of Compliance and Risk Officers (GRCRO) from 8 to 9 July 2025. Togo is hosting this meeting for the second year in a row.

African experts in compliance and the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT) took part in the GRCRO. More than 600 professionals from 42 nationalities were present in Lomé. At the opening of the work, the Togolese Minister of Economy and Finance, Georges Essowè Barcola, indicated that “Africa has lost more than $1 trillion in illicit financial flows over the past fifty years.” In his speech, the latter cites figures from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Also, he referred to the increase in annual losses related to illicit flows, from $50 billion in 2020 to $90 billion in 2025, equivalent to 3.7% of African Gross Domestic Product (GDP) according to the African Development Bank (AfDB

According to the minister, the Togolese AML/CFT system, “if it wants to meet the requirements of the next cycle of mutual evaluation, will have to make efficiency a norm”. Above all, he called for “synergies of action between public authorities and private actors”.

Faced with multifaceted threats, ranging from cyberattacks to the hidden financing of criminal actors, Kimélabalou Aba, President of the Togolese High Authority for the Prevention and Combating of Corruption and Similar Offences (HAPLUCIA), emphasized the need for coordination between States, institutions financial institutions and civil society.

It should be noted that twelve African countries are still on the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) this year, and Togo, a small country in West Africa with more than 8 million inhabitants, is positioned as an anchor for a reform dynamic.