I hope the recent pronouncements of Central Bank of Nigeria officials on 
corruption and money laundering in the sub-region are not being ignored
in Banjul. First it was the Governor and now an assistant director from 
Central Bank of Nigeria all "presenting lectures" on money laundering
and financial crimes. Its interesting to note that since 2000, the 
Gambia has welcomed 8 Nigerian banks (according to my last count). While
this may be good news for investment, jobs and of course, help The 
Gambia realize the "Singapore of West Africa" dream, we must not ignore
Nigeria's call for prudence.

Malanding Jaiteh


Courtesy: 
http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/money-laundering-a-major-economic-crime-in-africa


  Money laundering: A major economic crime in Africa

<http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/money-laundering-a-major-economic-crime-in-africa#map> 
Africa <http://observer.gm/africa/news> » Gambia 
<http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/news>
Friday, February 19, 2010
Dr Ngozi Egbuna, assistant director at the Monetary Policy Department of 
the Central Bank of Nigeria, has described money laundering as one of 
the major economic and financial crimes in Africa.

She emphasised that the phenomenon is a financial crime that affects 
every individual, business and government, and that it has the potential 
of fueling crime and ultimately eroding the individual rights of 
citizens, thus affecting national and international economic performance.

The Nigerian economist made these observations Tuesday while presenting 
a lecture on money laundering and financial crimes as part of the 
ongoing regional training seminar on economic and financial analysis for 
journalists organised by the West African Institute for Financial and 
Economic Management (WAIFEM) in Lagos, Nigeria.

Dr Egbuna observed that financial crime and money laundering is 
increasingly becoming a global phenomenon and threat to international 
banking as well as the civil and political spheres. The extent to which 
money is laundered globally, according to her, is estimated to be 
between $500 billion and $1trillion. She however noted that the wide 
range of the estimate highlights the difficulties associated with 
obtaining accurate data on this problem.

This, she said is due to the fact that only a limited number of 
countries have set up anti-money laundering regimes that are up and 
running and are therefore able to provide appropriate statistics. "For 
the fact that setting-up of anti-money laundering regimes is only 
gaining momentum indicates that it will take some time to build up 
accurate statistics on money laundering," she stated.

Commenting on the negative consequences of the menace, Dr Egbuna stated 
that money laundering has potentially devastating economic, security, 
and social consequences. She noted that it provides the fuel for drug 
dealers, terrorists, illegal arm dealers, corrupt public officials 
amongst others to operate and expand their criminal enterprises. "Money 
laundering can also adversely affect currencies and interest rates as 
launderers reinvest funds where their schemes are less likely to be 
detected, rather than where rates of return are higher," she pointed out.

She further added: "Money laundering can increase the threat of monetary 
instability due to misallocation of resources from artificial 
distortions in asset and commodity prices."

Dr Egbuna added that money laundering diminishes government tax revenue 
and indirectly harms honest taxpayers, while also making government tax 
collection more difficult. She observed that in today?s global economy, 
a nation cannot afford to have its reputation and its financial 
institutions be tarnished by associating with money laundering. 
"Confidence in a nation?s markets is eroded by money laundering of 
criminal proceeds, widespread financial fraud, insider trading of 
securities, and embezzlement," she highlighted.

She stressed that once a country?s financial reputation has been 
damaged, reviving it could be difficult. She pointed out that it 
requires significant government resources to rectify the problem, which 
could have been prevented with proper anti-money laundering controls. 
The starting point for a country to establish or improve its anti-money 
laundering framework, according to her, is by making money laundering a 
crime. She hinted that efforts being made to combat money laundering are 
beginning to bear fruits given that it is now taking the centre-stage in 
all regulatory authorities.

Dr Ngozi Egbuna concluded by saying that combating of this menace 
requires the crafting of appropriate laws, as well as the creation of 
national and international capacity and coordination, stressing that 
political commitment at all times to achieve this is paramount.
Author: *by Hatab Fadera in Lagos, Nigeria*

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