Dr Jospeh France
DR JOSEPH France, Head of the Financial Stability Department of the Bank of Ghana, has called financial institutions to ensure they flag and report transactions that are unusual and suspicious to the FIC, to prevent criminals from using them as conduits to facilitate money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF).
Delivering a keynote address at a sensitisation workshop BoG organised for Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs) yesterday in Accra, Dr France said this year, the BoG is advancing the work it started last year by engaging RCBs and MFIs to support the expansion of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/FT) risk assessment methodology of BoG, by including the lower-tiered institutions (RCBs/MFIs) across the country in the programme.
He expressed appreciation to all institutions and participants for their continual support over the years and on behalf of the management of the Bank of Ghana.
“Ghana needs a strong and viable financial system and the high standard of AML/CFT&P compliance by financial institutions is vital in ensuring a sustainable AML/CFT & P regime requisite for financial stability.”
The workshop, which witnessed the registration of institutions on the GoAML platform, also equipped institutions on reporting to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) to enhance collaboration between competent authorities.
The GoAML platform is a fully integrated software solution developed specifically for use by Financial Intelligence Units by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The participants were taken through one of the key aspects of the continuous due diligence (CDD) process of Transaction Monitoring (TM). They were also taken through the population and submission of data capture returns and self-assessment questionnaire.
“I will like to use this platform to acknowledge the crucial role the FIC continues to play in partnering to play in partnering the BoG in training and sensitising regulated financial institutions (RFIs). The contribution of the ARP Apex Bank, when it comes to complying with requirement of the AML/CFT&P laws by RCBs, cannot be over-emphasised and of course some of the compliance officers of the major banks have also been of tremendous help,” he disclosed.
In June this year, he said Ghana came off the FATF grey lost after the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) of FATF had conducted its onsite examination on Ghana in May.
BY Samuel Boadi