Posted by Chijama Ogbu on
Nigeria has again been retained in the dirty-money watch list of the Financial Action Task Force.
Nigeria has again been retained in the dirty-money watch list of the Financial Action Task Force.
Nigeria, Myanmar and Nauru need to make more efforts if they are to be taken off the dirty-money blacklist, the inter-governmental body for combating money laundering and terrorist financing said on Friday.
The three countries are in the Financial Action Task Force's list of non-cooperative countries and their status was reviewed at a meeting of the organisation on Thursday in Singapore.
'The FATF welcomes the substantial progress made by Myanmar, Nauru and Nigeria in enacting legislation and regulations addressing the main identified deficiencies. However, the countries will remain on the NCCT list until the reforms have been adequately implemented," it said in a statement, referring to its list of Non-cooperative Countries and Territories.
The FATF had in a meeting in France, earlier in the year, delisted the Philippines along with Cook Islands and Indonesia, leaving Nigeria as the only significant country on the list.
The Paris-based FATF's 49 recommendations on tackling money laundering and terrorist financing serve as global standards and are being adopted by its members and other countries.
FATF officials told a news conference at the end of the meeting that its members and the 28 member-countries of the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering had adopted new rules on cross-border electronic cash transfers to combat terror funding.
'Financial institutions will have a strong obligation to include in the wire transfer identification data about the originator of the transaction, so that he or she can be easily identifiable," said Alain Damais, FATF's Executive Secretary, adding that transfers below $1,000 or 1,000 euros might be exempted.
FATF was set up by developed nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Nigeria has been on the list of NCCT since June 2001.
Being on the list means that Nigeria is considered a high-risk country to make financial transactions in, and the implication is that international financial institutions will often impose premium charges on transactions involving Nigerian financial institutions.
Also, being on the list often makes it very difficult for Nigerians living overseas to open accounts, especially in branches of multinational financial institutions.
The financial offences watchdog recommends that financial institutions should give special attention to business relations and transactions with persons, including companies and financial institutions, from the 'non-cooperative countries and territories."
The Punch, Monday June 13, 2005