Raheem Akingbolu
Stakeholders in the fight against cross border bulk cash smuggling have again established that the dominance of cash in business transactions in West Africa and the informality of the economy make the region vulnerable and attractive to criminals.
The stakeholders, including the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Financial Action Task Force–Styled Regional Body (FSRB) responsible for combating the scourge of Money Laundering (ML) and Terrorist Financing (TF) in West Africa and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, have also traced the challenges of identification, tracing and recovery of laundered proceeds of crime facing the security operatives in the region to cash transactions.
Speaking at a three-day Workshop/ training on ‘Prevention of Cross Border Bulk Cash Smuggling’ organised by GIABA in Lagos, the Director General of the Inter-Governmental Action Group, Mr. Aba Kimelabalou, admitted that cross border bulk cash smuggling and smuggling of goods have remained rampant criminal activities within West African countries, with adverse implications for the economies of member States because cash in business transactions and smuggling provide perpetrators with the anonymity they need to transact illicit businesses.
He said, “in particular, cross border bulk cash smuggling and cash transactions pose unique challenges to law enforcement efforts, and the effective implementation of AML/CFT regime in general. Recent Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report on ML through the Physical Transportation of Cash recognized cash smuggling as a significant risk, and that it was an increasing problem. The report noted that cash is still widely used in the criminal economy and it remains the raw material of most criminal activity,”
Kimelabalou also pointed out that the use of physical transportation of cash distances the criminal proceeds from the predicate offences that generated them, and breaks audit trails. According to him, these challenges coupled with the weak security control at points of entry/exit; porous national borders; and weak currency declaration and/or disclosure regimes impact adversely on national and regional efforts against ML/TF.
“Typologies studies on Cash Transactions and Cash Couriers in West Africa undertaken by GIABA in 2007 underscored the vulnerability of cash transaction to money laundering and terrorist financing and the weak implementation of the currency/BNIs declaration regime in our region. The findings of the study are reinforced by the outcome of the mutual evaluations of GIABA member States, which show general deficiencies with the requirements of especially FATF Recommendation 32 relating to cash couriers. In most member States, critical agencies, especially the Customs lack the necessary technical capacity, including equipment to identify and detect a breach of the obligation to declare cross-border transportation of currency and BNIs, as well as undertake necessary investigation to establish the possible links between the amounts seized and possible cases of TF or ML,” he stated.
While reiterating the fact that cash remains strategically important to trade and will remain so in many years to come, especially in West African region, the DG stated that the goal of the workshop was not to discuss how to entirely eliminate the use of cash in transactions in the country or within the region, but to provide a platform for stakeholders to deliberate on the implications of cash couriering and to consider options for addressing the problem.
Thus, the primary objective of the programme was to strengthen the operational capabilities of critical agencies in the country and provide a platform for sharing of experiences and fostering cooperation and collaboration toward effective implementation of the Currency/BNI declaration regime in Nigeria.
Giving his opening remark at the training, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Custom service, Col. Hammed Ibrahim Ali (RTD), represented by Comptroller –General, Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Mr. Elton Edorhe, said the theme of the workshop is important now as the ECOWAS region is currently facing challenges of various trans-border crimes such as kidnapping, banditry and terrorism, adding that most of these crimes are linked to cross border smuggling of cash.
