An institution of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa, GIABA, has organized a two-day workshop for the validation of its findings from a study on the Nigerian maritime sector reforms.
The study by GIABA, in collaboration with the Support of West Africa Integrated Maritime Security, SWAIMS, program is targeted at Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria and Togo.
The workshop is designed to hold between September and October in each of the six countries.
During the workshop, stakeholders from maritime, security and financial intelligence sectors will help strengthen the findings of the GIABA report on Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing, Illicit Financial Flows and Maritime Crime in the Gulf of Guinea.
While declaring open the workshop on Tuesday in Abuja, the Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and National Correspondent of GIABA, Modibbo Tukur, tasked the participants on meaningful deliberations with a view to enriching the study.
According to him, the study when finalised will serve as a manual for curbing illicit financial flows across the Gulf of Guinea.
In his remarks, the Director-General of GIABA, Edwin Harris Jr., said the objective of the study was to assess and understand how money laundering, terrorist financing and illicit financial flows are linked to maritime criminality in the Gulf of Guinea.
According to him, the study explored the laundering mechanisms by which the financial proceeds from different forms of maritime crime enter the economy.
He said: “the study sought to identify how the money generated by maritime crime fuels the underground criminal economy and potentially funds terrorist activities.
“the study also sought to provide relevant recommendations that could be implemented to disrupt the financial circuits of maritime criminality and other associated challenges in the region.”
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that the European Union is implementing the SWAIMS program in collaboration with the GIABA as part of the EU Gulf of Guinea Strategy.
The SWAIMS program is a set of interventions comprising a number of different projects, including the recently completed study by the GIABA.
