Financial Crime World

The Gambia Strengthening Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing Regulations

In its ongoing efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, The Gambia has collaborated with the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and other stakeholders to develop an Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing Strategy.

Objectives and Action Plans

The strategy aims to identify strategic and specific objectives and action plans to achieve them. In a speech delivered by Yahya Camara, Director of the Gambia Financial Intelligence Unit (GFIU), it was emphasized that the National Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Strategy is one of the most important documents a country should have to drive the process of combating these menaces.

Key Achievements

The Gambia has made significant progress in rectifying the deficiencies identified by GIABA during its last assessment. Some of the key achievements include:

  • Ratification of several international conventions
  • Implementation of cash transaction reporting
  • Provision of training for bank staff and other financial institutions

Outstanding Deficiencies

However, despite these achievements, there are still key outstanding deficiencies that need to be addressed. These include:

  • Non-ratification of two UN Conventions
  • Exclusion of cash transaction reporting from the AML/CFT Act 2012
  • Lack of national regulation for implementing UN Security Council Resolutions
  • Inadequate supervision of DNFBPs

Workshop Held in Banjul

A workshop was held recently in Banjul to formulate strategies to rectify these deficiencies. The President of the Republic of The Gambia, His Excellency Sheik Professor Alhagie Doctor Yahya AJ.J Jammeh has directed that all deficiencies of the AML/CFT framework highlighted by GIABA be rectified.

Conclusion

As The Gambia continues to strive for a robust Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing regime, it is hoped that this will reinforce the already existing peace and stability in the country.