Tuesday, 22 March 2011

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/19258-waziri-advocates-more-global-actions-against-money-laundering

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri, has advocated more global actions against the scourge of money laundering across the world.

She made the call at the weekend at a conference against money laundering and economic crimes in London, United Kingdom.

Waziri, who presided over the three sessions of the conference, explained in the paper she presented that the Nigerian government had continued to take steps to address the menace of money laundering through “ a comprehensive AML/FC regime that encapsulates legal framework, regulatory framework, institutional framework as well as domestic and international cooperation.”

The EFCC boss whose paper centred on “Latest Approach To Focus, Enforcement and Regulation of AML/FC: The EFCC As a Case Study” argued that while the two-fold approach, namely; preventive and detective/enforcement, adopted by the EFCC to fight the menace had yielded positive results, the crime was yet to be drastically reduced, especially in the developing countries due to the double standard approach often adopted by the developed nations.

She said if not for this, it would be practically impossible for leaders in developing countries to stash away looted trillions of dollars in foreign bank accounts which service, the economies of the developed nations.

According to her “ I agree with the UN which says that around $148 billion is stolen from Africa by the political leaders, the business elite and civil servants with the collusion and connivance of banking industries in Europe and North America.”