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Giaba sensitises free trade zones stakeholders on money laundering
The Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), is covening a two-day national workshop on Money Laundering through the Free Trade Zone for stakeholders in Nigeria.
The objectives of the workshop which hold between Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15, 2012 are to provide participants with the knowledge and tools required to file mandatory and suspicious reports to relevant authorities; and to afford participants the opportunity to share and listen to practical and live experiences of required FATF recommendations internal control processes, and hands-on procedures, programs and policies of AML/CFT compliance.
The two-day sensitization program aimed at Supervisors and Regulators in the Free Trade Zone administration in Nigeria according to the organisers is informed by the necessity to react proactively to the proliferation of FTZs in the country.
In Nigeria the regulatory and supervisory body is the Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA), a body created through the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Act 63, of 1992.
The enabling Act confers on NEPZA the power to approve and grant all license and permits to the exclusion of all other agencies, enforce obedience and compliance to rules and regulations. They are also empowered to define policy direction and provide a One-Stop-Shop business transaction without bureaucracy.
The workshop will among other expectations require the NEPZA in putting in AML/CFT compliance structures in its requirements and policies and implement action plans for monitoring companies seeking to establish businesses within the FTZs and further cooperation with the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit.
The workshop will cover presentations on a range of topics including Overview of the FATF Recommendations; Fundamentals of AML/CFT Compliance, Risk Based Approach to Compliance, Introduction to Trade Based Money Laundering; Vulnerabilities of Free Trade Zones to Money Laundering, Enhancing Cooperation in AML/CFT Compliance between Regulators and Law Enforcement Agencies.
The training will be delivered by a team of experienced experts and practitioners from Nigeria, including GIABA faculty, through plenary presentations, case studies, experience sharing and syndicate group exercises.
At the end of the workshop, it is expected that the workshop would increase awareness of the negative effects of ML & TF, and understanding of the requirements of the FATF Recommendations among actors in Free Trade Zones; facilitate compliance with necessary Customer Due Diligence (CDD), Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Suspected Transaction Report (STR) requirements with respect to FTZs; as well as engender better working relationship between FTZ Operators and Supervisors and Regulators.
