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The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo, has urged financial institutions in the country to install.....
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo, has urged financial institutions in the country to install effective mechanisms, procedures and processes to check money laundering activities in the system.
In an address at the second anti-money laundering seminar in Lagos on Tuesday, Soludo said that since money launderers needed financial institutions to perpetrate their activities, it was essential that banks effectively thwarted their efforts and check the menace.
He said that banks and other financial institutions had the obligation to comply with anti-money laundering requirements, which includes keeping identities and records of transactions of customers for at least five years.
'The Federal Government of Nigeria, being fully aware of the negative consequencies of money laundering on the national economy, is highly committed to fighting the scourge,‘‘ he said.
The CBN boss noted that the management of the apex bank, in collaboration with the security agencies had worked hard to address the problem of money laundering in the country through the improvement of their regulatory and supervisory activities.
He said that Nigeria was also collaborating with various international agencies, especially the Financial Action Task Force on money laundering for the implementation of anti-money laundering strategies and measures.
He said that a fallout of the robust collaboration with the various international agencies was the recent de-listing of Nigeria from the league of non-cooperative countries and territories.
He congratulated stakeholders for the landmark achievement and urged them not to rest on their oars but to remain vigilant to ensure that the country did not re-appear on the ignoble list.
He particurlarly commen-ded the role of the private sector in sensitising the populace to the menace of money laundering and the need to adopt international best practices.