Take anti-money laudering serious, Ghana tell WAMI

GHANA’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has called on the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), the body responsible for the implementation of a common payment and settlement criteria for the institute’s member countries, to include anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing strategies in its operations


The centre has, thus, called on the Central Banks of the respective member countries, including Ghana’s Bank of Ghana, to tighten the screws on acts bordering on internal and external money laundering and terror financing using their respective country’s financial and banking platforms.

Contributing to a discussion on the current state of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) during the first Swift Business Forum for the WAMZ member countries in Accra, Mr Edward M. Musey of the FIC said the WAMI ought to include a money laundering and counter terrorism financing in its cards.

“We are currently witnessing an increase in terrorism financing and money laundering activities using our financial institutions,” Mr Musey said noting that the financial institutions within the zone would now have to be keener on the source of funds coming into their country and the destinations of those leaving their economic borders.

“I think the WAMI would have to include ways of tackling the development even before its common payment and settlement systems for the zone become operational for its members”.

“We have seen what happened in Nigeria some few days ago in addition to the few issues of money laundering activities heard here and there,” Mr Musey said and added that the institute needed to immediately devise ways of tackling money laundering and countering terror financing strategies that could infiltrate its system should it become operational.

Responding to the suggestion, the Deputy Governors of both Nigeria and The Gambia and an official at Bank of Ghana’s Banking and Supervision Department said their respective banks and countries were currently well- equipped to deal with such issues boardering on money laundering and terrorism financing.

Dr Amissah Arthur is the Governor of Ghana's Central Bank.

They, however, contended that the WAMZ, as a future economy block, needed a common platform to deal with such issues.

The WAMZ is an integration of selected West African countries with an aim to establish a common economic and monetary union for its current six member countries, the establishment of a West African Central Bank and a Financial Supervisory Authority and a common currency for the zone.

As a result, the member countries have currently been tasked to develop a common payment and settlement platform for their internal banking and financial institutions prior to the implementation of the zone’s core objectives.

While that of Nigeria and Ghana are virtually on the verge of completing conversion criteria towards meeting the zone’s agreed settlement system for member countries, those of The Gambia and Sierra Leone are yet to put up any meaningful foundation.

A deputy Governor at The Gambia’s Central Bank, Mrs Sara Savage-Samba, said at the forum that “while the speakers of Ghana and Nigeria are saying they have this and they have that,unfortunately, we in The Gambia do not have anything yet” but promised to work harder in achieving the set goals.

She cited lack of participation and the unwillingness of her country’s banking community to make financial commitments towards the implementation of the payment and settlement system as a drawback.