Jul.06, 2010, 08:53

A national stakeholder’s workshop on the development of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism strategy has been organised with a call on people who work in accountable institutions, especially law enforcement agencies to deal ruthlessly with any person  who engages in such acts or business.

The Anti-Money Laundering legislation places a responsibility on people who work in ‘sensitive’ institutions to report not just when they suspect that another person is engaged in money laundering but also identify reasonable grounds to know or suspect that a transaction is linked to the laundering of criminal proceeds.

The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Hon. Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu, made this remark yesterday at the opening of a three-day workshop in Accra.

The timely and significant workshop according to organisers will help among other things to fashion out modalities for the development of the national strategic plan of action to combat money laundering and financing of organised crime.

It also comes against the background of the recent upsurge in terrorism and secret banking activities across the globe.

Mrs. Iddrisu was worried about the complexity of organised crime and the sophisticated act of money laundering, adding that globalisation has compounded the problem because the economic circumstances in one country can adversely affect the other.

“Money laundering undermines the legitimate private sector, causes loss of control of economic policies and also leads to the loss of government revenue and economic distortion’, she noted.

The Interior Minister, Hon. Martin Amidu, intimated that as a member of the international community, Ghana therefore has an obligation to fulfil by ensuring compliance with the international laws in Anti-Money Lauding and Combating Financial Terrorism.

‘We as a nation have however fulfilled some of these obligations by enacting the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2008 (Act 749); the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2008 among others,” He pointed out.

The Interior Minister also observed that Ghana has a cash based economy, has the potential for laundering the proceeds of crime and terrorist financing due to the porous and weakness in the law enforcement.

These developments, he said indicate the urgent need for the country to develop Anti-Money Laundry Plan and Combating the Financial Terrorism Guidelines and Compliance Manuals.

The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, in a speech read on his behalf, said with the development of a national strategic plan to ameliorate money laundering, Ghana will consolidate democracy, ensure economic and financial integrity, overcome corruption and accelerate economic development.

The workshop according to the Director General of the Inter Governmental Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), Dr. Abdullah Shehu, marks a new phase in Ghana’s determination to counter money laundering and terrorist financing and believed that the anticipated holistic approach towards collaboration and coordination for all stakeholders become a reality.

Participants at the workshop believe their contribution will also help rectify some deficiencies recorded in the evaluation on Ghana’s readiness to combat money-laundering and terrorist financing by GIABA last year.