The Director General of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), Edwin Harris Junior, is asking governments of member states to act in the relevant areas of the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing for the integrity of economic and financial systems of the region.
Speaking in Dakar, Senegal, at the Ambassador Briefing Session and World Press Conference, Harris stated that the sustained action of governments will strengthen the anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing regimes in member countries.
The GIABA Director General explained that the West African space is highly vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing, and without a strong political commitment to combat it, the negative impacts on the region’s economies will be enormous.
He further says that GIABA continues to engage all stakeholders daily to improve awareness and enhance stakeholders’ understanding of the issues in line with the core objective of the GIABA 2023-2027 Strategic Plan which focuses on sensitizing all the various targeted audiences.
Despite the challenges posed by the changing global trends and emerging threats, Harris Junior said the GIABA Secretariat has focused its interventions on protecting national economies and countries’ financial and banking systems from laundering the proceeds of crime and combating the financing of terrorism while improving measures, intensifying efforts to strengthen national and international cooperation.
