The Minister of Interior Yankuba JN Sonko has been briefed on money laundering by members of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) under ECOWAS.
The purpose of the visit was to discuss with the Minister the country’s commitment to governance and implementation of the GIABA protocols and principles on Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (ML/CTF) Framework.
Kimela Balou Aba, Director General of GIABA, affirmed that the visit afforded them the opportunity to discuss the progress and challenges relate to the implementation of the recommendations from the previous plenary sessions among others.
He commended the government ministries and institutions committing their resources and energy to participate in the GIABA country-program implementation in The Gambia.
He said the team would like to meet technical officers of the Ministry for the purpose of evaluating their knowledge and skills, as well as their challenges when it comes to ML/CTF structures and implementation programs.
He noted that the assessment report on the country is meant for submission to GIABA Financial Task Force Committee for review, evaluation and consideration.
He therefore appealed to the technicians on the ground to endeavour to support the Assistance Team by providing the necessary information on the implementation of the programs. “This would ensure both progresses and weaknesses in the various implementation programs of ML/CFT recommendations are highlighted”.
He emphasized the need for proactive implementation of countries’ mutual evaluation framework, noting that it is a great concern to the GIABA Assessment Team and ECOWAS as a Commission that state members collaborate and cooperate effectively to fighting against terrorism within their borders.
He assured of offering The Gambia the technical assistance and support needed to enhance implementation of GIABA programs, more especially the ML/CTF Framework.
In his remarks, the Honourable Minister of Interior, Yankuba JN Sonko welcomed the GIABA Assessment Team and commended them for undertaking “the noble mission” of promoting security and protection of the “socio-economic environment of the ECOWAS member states”. He said the assessment is timely since government has been committed to lot of policy and legal formulation processes both at national and institutional levels with limited resource capacity.
He made reference to some important legal frameworks developed in this regard, which include the Anti-Corruption Bill, Anti-Migrant Smuggling Bill as well as establishment of security surveillance systems such as the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAs) at the country’s borders. These, the minister noted, “are meant to support apprehension of criminals to deter their heinous impact on socio-economic activities and monitor the movement of people in and out of the country’’.
He further noted that the policies and the technological infrastructure established will help Government of The Gambia fight against terrorism activities within the regional corridors.
Minister Sonko further intimated that the government aspires to widen the scope of MIDA’s systems to the other spaces in the community such as supermarkets, local markets, major sporting centres, among others, as part of its drive to suppress and prevent terrorism practices hindering safe movement and economic activities of the people.
He pointed to the need for effective synchronization of all security surveillance systems in order to effectively implement ML/CTF programs and activities in The Gambia.
