Buhari’s anti-money laundering Bill

By Okechukwu Emeh, Jr & Shasudin Daura

AT the root of most economic and financial crimes are the proceeds, which are often laun­dered through lodging in financial and non-designated financial institutions or investment in legitimate business ventures. According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (In­ternational Student’s Edition), laundering in­volves moving money that has been obtained illegally into foreign bank accounts or legal businesses so that it is difficult for people to know where the money came from. The range of illicit activities whose proceeds can be laun­dered include corruption, sleaze, fraud, drug peddling, crude oil theft, currency counterfeit­ing, document forgery, unauthorized exploita­tion of mineral resources, human trafficking, the baby factory, armed robbery, kidnapping, smuggling and trade in endangered species, stolen arts and archeological artifacts. In most cases, money originating from such activities is very difficult to trace except by financial crime investigative experts.

There is no doubt that the campaign to constrain and control economic and financial crimes in Nigeria is gathering momentum un­der the present administration of President Mu­hammadu Buhari. In a way, this campaign has international correlation and can be observed at this critical period of globalization, global­ized economy and market reforms when com­mitment to sanitizing public sector and busi­ness environment is at the core of the drives to reverse the sluggish economies of many countries, especially those in the sub-Saharan Africa. In this regard, international financial in­stitutions (IFIs), specially the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), along with the United Nations (UN) and the Euro­pean Union (EU), have emphasized at various fora the paramount importance of combating economic and financial crimes. In particular, the IFIs have made signing of global transpar­ency and integrity compliant protocols like the one of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) an essential precondition for countries to receive their economic clean bill of health and financial advice or assistance. This is owing to the in­eluctable fact that such crimes are at odds with the post-Cold War efforts to steer developing countries towards economic rejuvenation and sustainable development. For example, in many peripheral economies in sub-Saharan Af­rica, including Nigeria, economic and financial crimes have, amongst others, led to economic growth without development and equity, mass deprivation and the attendant abject poverty, social discontent and crime and insecurity, de­stabilization of viable and credible process of transparency and accountability in both pub­lic and corporate governance, loss of capacity utilization, capital flight, lull in entrepreneurial ability, institutional decay, unfavourable exter­nal image and the resultant decline in foreign direct investments (FDIs) and visa problem.

In recent years, the emerging international regimes or conventions against economic and financial crimes include the institutional frame­works of FATF, and the Global EGMONT Group of Financial Intelligence units (FIUs). Instructively, FATF was set up with the prime objective of waging a worldwide campaign against economic and financial crimes, as well as illicit flow of money from trafficking in hard drugs and arms. So far, many countries have signed the protocol initiated by this Paris-based international body. One FATF – style regional body (FSRB) which Nigeria is a member is the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), a specialized institution of the Economic Com­munity of West African States (ECOWAS) based in Dakar, Senegal. In essence, GIABA is charged with facilitating the adoption and implementation of the Anti-Money Launder­ing (AML) and Counter-Financing of Terror­ism (CFT) rules in the sub-region, along with ensuring compliance with international AML/ FCT standards.

As a signatory to the protocols of FATF and the Global EGMONT Group of FIUs, Nige­ria took a bold step to establish the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2002. Since then, EFCC has made substantial progress in its unrelenting and determined ef­forts to curb economic and financial crimes, with many of the offenders being hunted down and jailed by the commission. Gladly enough, such efforts have resulted in Nigeria being del­isted by FATF from the risk of countries that are prone to financial crimes.

In view of the impelling necessity of strength­ening the campaign against money laundering, terrorist financing and other unlawful activities that could threaten and undermine our finan­cial system and national security, the National Assembly in 2014 proposed a bill seeking to establish the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Centre (NFIC). The bill, which was separately initiated and thoroughly debated at both the Senate and the House of Representatives, re­viewed certain provisions of the EFCC Act, as well as amended the Money Laundering (Pro­hibition) Act, by transferring the operations of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) against money laundering currently domiciled in EFCC to the proposed NFIC. Un­fortunately, the lawmakers of the 7th National Assembly could not pass that all-important bill before leaving office last year.

However, another hope to tackle money laun­dering cases in Nigeria has been rekindled by President Buhari, who recently sent the “Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibi­tion) bill 2016” to the National Assembly for con­sideration. In analysis, the bill seeks to establish Bureau for Money Laundering Control (BMLC), which would be independent in the discharge of its functions and responsibilities. According to the “Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) bill 2016”, any perpetrator of the crime is defined as “a person who knows, ought reasonably to have known or suspects that property has a criminal origin, commits an offence, if he conceals, dis­guises, converts, transfers or removes the property from Nigeria. The bill prescribes stiff penalty for anybody found culpable of the offence and upon conviction shall be in imprisonment for a term of not less than seven years without the option of a fine. Under the “Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) bill 2016”, any bank that is found guilty of money laundering would be liable for the fine of not less than N25 million and a designated non-financial business and profession would get a fine of not less that N10 Million if found guilty of the offence. The proposed bill also stipulates three years imprisonment or above for anybody that fails to report persons involved in the illicit act.

It is self-evident that Buhari’s anti-money laun­dering bill is in tandem with the urgent necessity to establish a formidable financial intelligence body to combat money laundering, terrorist financing activities and other predicate offences in Nige­ria. Such a body — as required under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2012 (as amended), the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013 (as amended) or any other relevant law or regulation — would have mechanisms for sound policy and decision – making requiring adequate, quality and timely information analysis necessary for tracking and choking off the flow of proceeds from illicit activi­ties that could impact negatively on our economy and national security in a more deeply or rapidly way.

n Emeh and Daura write from Abuja.

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