- Mar 2, 2011 5:48 PM GMT+0800

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-02/nigeria-s-senate-passes-bill-against-money-laundering-1-.html

Nigeria’s Senate passed a bill against money laundering that prescribes harsher sentences for offenders and targets terrorist financing, according to the official record of proceedings released yesterday.

The legislation, which replaces a version passed in 2004, stipulates as much as 10 years in jail for offenders. The maximum penalty was previously three years.

The law also targets proceeds from corruption, organized crime, racketeering, drug trafficking and tax evasion, according David Mark, president of the Senate. President Goodluck Jonathan needs to sign the legislation before it becomes law. Nigeria is among 31 countries with deficiencies in its money laundering and terrorist financing legislation, according to the inter- governmental Financial Action Task Force.

Under the new law, all banks are required to appoint compliance officers or face a fine. Individuals carrying more than $10,000 in cash must declare such money to custom officials at entry and exit points from the country.

The legislation also mandates all financial institutions to report corporate transactions that exceed 10 million naira ($65,000) to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, and individual transactions in excess of 5 million naira. Casinos and jewelers are also obliged to report transactions which exceed the limit.

The regulators, including the central bank and the EFCC, are empowered to place surveillance on suspected banks and gain access to relevant records. The law does not allow for phone taps.