02/03/2011 00:00:00

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The Senate yesterday passed the anti Money Laundering Bill prescribing a maximum jail term of 10 years but not less than five years.

The new anti-money laundering bill is to replace the 2004 Act which is said to lack the relevant provisions that will make it compliant with Financial Action Task force (FATF), established by the G7 Summit held in Paris in 1989.

The bill as passed slightly differed from the version sent to the senators by President Goodluck Jonathan.

It raised the bars for cash transaction that can be made outside a financial institution from N500, 000.00 to N5 million for individuals and N2 million to N10 million for corporate bodies.

The Senate also increased the amount of international transfers that ought to be reported to government agencies from $2,000 to $10, 000 for individuals. It also places a duty on bankers and other financial institutions to report international transfers of funds exceeding $10,000 to the Central Bank  from where the records can be accessed by security operatives.

The bill also provided in Section 3 that transportation of cash or negotiable instruments in excess of $10,000 or its equivalent by individuals in or out of the country “shall be declared to the Nigerian Custom Service,”

Those who go against Section 3, according to the bill, “Shall be liable upon conviction to forfeit  not less than 25 per cent of the undeclared funds or negotiable instrument or to imprisonment of not less than two years or both.”