Daily Independent Online.
*
Wednesday, June 30, 2004.
CBN lists why money laundering persists
By Sanya Adejokun,
Senior
Correspondent,
Abuja
Rigid bank secrecy
rules and failure to criminalise money laundering from all serious crimes is
the major reasons for the persistence of money laundering in the financial
system.
The Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) said this in Abuja at the ongoing national seminar on economic
crimes, adding that the money launderers took advantage of the weaknesses in
the financial system to perpetrate their heinous crimes.
The Director of
Banking Supervision Department of the CBN, Mr. Ignatius Imala, explained that
recent developments in information technologies have further made financial
transactions relatively easy, thus the financial system is vulnerable to the
activities of money launderers.
He listed others
weaknesses in the financial system that gave the leeway to money launderers to
operate in financial institutions.
“Uncheck money laundering
activities might erode the integrity of the nation’s financial system and
adversely affect currency and interest rates.
“The money
laundering activities are becoming increasingly more elusive, well financed and
technologically empowered and have developed strong determination to subvert
financial system that are basically the pivot of legitimate international
transactions,” Imala explained.
According to him,
there is the need to combat money laundering due to the proceeds generated from
illicit drug trafficking that he stated, enables transnational criminal
organisation to penetrate, contaminate and corrupt structures of government,
legitimate commercial and financial system, and the society at all levels.
The Director canvassed the need to enhance inter-agency
co-operation in the fight against advance fee fraud and money laundering via
sustained capacity building through manpower training and development.
