By Edouard Touré After 20 years of existence, the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) must blow on the embers of the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT), said Wednesday, its Director General, Kimelabalou Aba.

"Projecting ourselves into the next 20 years, I imagine an institution that will make Africa proud; therefore (...), let us make our voice heard, let us speak up and blow on the embers of the fight against money laundering, the financing of terrorism and its proliferation with all the tools at our disposal", said Mr. Aba.

Speaking at a virtual conference as part of GIABA's 20th anniversary celebration, he stressed that the institution continues to face several challenges, including the weak political will to bring the AML/CFT process to a successful conclusion.

"GIABA must also," continued Kimelabalou Aba, "address the challenges of insufficient funding for the implementation of AML/CFT programmes, weak capacity (both human and institutional) of Member States in the effective implementation of AML/CFT measures, and shortcomings in the national legal framework and in national coordination and collaboration between competent authorities".

These challenges also include the low level of regional and international cooperation, the complexities in the administration of AML/CFT arrangements, the slow pace of implementation of legislative changes in the region, specific regional weaknesses (geography-related challenges, armed conflicts, ethnic and religious conflicts, organized crime and corruption), and the informal nature of the region and its cash-based economy.

However, Mr. Aba welcomed, among other achievements, the completion of the first round of mutual evaluations of member states to assess their compliance with the FATF Recommendations and address identified gaps, the adoption of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws by all its states. members, the establishment of the Interministerial AML/CFT Coordination Committees at national level in the Member States and the establishment and operationalization of financial intelligence units (FIUs), some of which are now full members of the Egmont Group.

The same applies to the publication of more than twenty (20) research and typology reports that help facilitate the understanding of AML/CFT risks, trends, methods and techniques used by criminals to conduct their harmful activities and facilitate and support the conduct of national ML/TF risk assessments. in the Member States to enable them to devise relevant strategies to address the risks identified.