Economy
THE Director-General (D-G) of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), Mr Edwin Harris, has inaugurated the 2025 Annual Report.
Harris, during the presentation of the report at the GIABA’s Annual Briefing Session for Ambassadors, Technical and Financial Partners, on Monday in Dakar, commended the report.
He said that the reports showcase significant progress by ECOWAS member States in strengthening their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks while calling for intensified regional cooperation to combat evolving financial crimes.
Harris, who was represented by the Acting Director of Administration and Finance, Mr Jallow Cherno, described the report as a reflection of both the region’s achievements and the work that lies ahead.
“Our meeting is taking place against a regional backdrop of persistent terrorist attacks, transnational organised crime, corruption, illicit financial flows and cybercrime,” he said.
The D-G said that rapid technological developments, including digital transformation and crypto-assets, had created fresh opportunities for economic growth but had also opened new avenues for criminal exploitation.
“Against this backdrop, the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing remains essential to the security, good governance and development of our region,” Harris said.
According to him, GIABA continued implementing its strategic plan throughout 2025 by expanding technical assistance programmes, strengthening the capacities of financial intelligence units.
Also, conducting national risk assessments, organising specialised training and undertaking typology studies aimed at improving regional responses to financial crimes.
Harris said that these interventions, supported by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), other FATF-style regional bodies and development partners, had reinforced GIABA’s position as a leading institution safeguarding financial integrity within the ECOWAS region.
The D-G said that the document “bears testimony to the progress made while highlighting the challenges we need to address.”
He said that the report was the efforts undertaken by member states to strengthen compliance with international standards while improving the effectiveness of national anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism systems under the third round of mutual evaluations.
“The report highlights member states efforts to strengthen their compliance with international standards and improve the effectiveness of their national systems, as part of the third round of mutual evaluations now focused on achieving concrete results.
“These gains will not be possible without the unwavering commitment of GIABA’s technical and financial partners,” Harris said.
He said that the report was the ministerial committee’s decision to maintain the full membership of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger within GIABA in spite of broader political developments within the ECOWAS sub-region.
The D-G said that the decision was a landmark achievement and reaffirmed the principle that the fight against financial crime must remain above politics.(NAN)
Tags: Annual Report GIABA