Financial Crime World

Money Laundering in Gambia: Understanding the Threat

The Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and the Gambia Financial Intelligence Unit have joined forces to combat money laundering and other financial crimes in The Gambia. This collaboration involves stakeholders from various sectors, including:

  • Central Bank of The Gambia
  • Commercial banks
  • Finance ministries
  • Interior and justice ministries
  • Real estate industry
  • Gambia Police Force
  • Immigration department
  • Other relevant sectors

According to Yahya Camara, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (GFIU), money laundering is a serious menace that requires a robust strategy to combat. At a national workshop on developing an Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing Strategy for The Gambia, Camara emphasized the importance of:

  • Identifying strategic and specific objectives
  • Developing action plans to achieve them

Progress in Combating Money Laundering

The Gambia has made significant progress in combating money laundering since its mutual evaluation exercise by GIABA in 2008. However, despite these achievements, there are still key deficiencies that remain outstanding.

  • The country has not ratified the UN International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism Financing (New York, Convention, 1999)
  • The UN Convention against Corruption (Merida Convention, 2003) is also not ratified
  • Cash transaction reporting is excluded from the AML/CTF Act 2012
  • There are no AML/CTF obligations on NGOs

Political Support and Commitment

The Director of GFIU emphasized that the fight against crimes, including illicit drug trafficking, corruption, money laundering, terrorism financing, and all forms of crimes, has received the highest political support and commitment in The Gambia. He praised President Sheik Professor Alhagie Doctor Yahya AJ. Jammeh for directing in 2012 that all deficiencies of the AML/CFT framework be rectified.

Workshop Objectives

The workshop aimed to formulate strategies to:

  • Rectify outstanding deficiencies
  • Reinforce existing peace and stability in The Gambia

By addressing these key issues, The Gambia can further strengthen its efforts to combat money laundering and other financial crimes.