Fresh breath for Nigerian businesses as country exits global money laundering and terrorists financing watch list

By News Express on 19/10/2013



Nigerian businesses are now free from the repercussions of the country being labeled a non-cooperating and high-risk jurisdiction in the aspect of money laundering and terrorists financing.

This is because the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed the country from the list of high-risk territories regarding money laundering and financing of terrorism.

“It is expected that there will be great reduction in the costs and time line of financial transactions between individuals and institutions between Nigeria and other countries. Besides the guarantee of improved global rating for the country’s financial system, the amended laws and regulations will strengthen the enforcement and regulatory capacities of relevant institutions in Nigeria,” said Stephen Oronsaye, Chairman, Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force.

Oronsaye in a press release entitled “Nigeria Finally Exits FATF” attributed the FATF’s decision taken yesterday during its meeting in Paris, France, to Nigeria’s efforts geared towards tackling the crime of money laundering and financing of terrorism, including through measures to ensure national co-ordination. Said Oronsaye:

“The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary has removed Nigeria from its Public Statement following the country’s full implementation of the mutually agreed Action Plan and the exhibition of a clear political commitment to continue the development of its Anti-Money Laundering/ Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.

“The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 by the Ministers of its Member jurisdictions. The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

“In a statement issued on Friday, October 18, 2013, in Paris, France, the FATF expressed satisfaction with the political will displayed by Nigeria in improving its Global AML/CFT Compliance.

“Accordingly, the FATF voted unanimously to expunge Nigeria from the list of jurisdictions.

“The FATF statement reads: “the FATF welcomes Nigeria’s significant progress in improving its AML/CFT regime and notes that Nigeria has established the legal and regulatory framework to meet its commitment in its Action Plan regarding the strategic deficiencies that the FATF had identified in February, 2010. Nigeria is therefore no longer subject to FATF’s monitoring process under its on-going global AML/CFT compliance process”.

“The FATF statement added that Nigeria will continue to address the full range of AML/CFT issues identified in its Mutual Evaluation Report.

“It will be recalled that during the recent on-site visit of the Regional Review Group (RRG) for Africa and the Middle East to Nigeria, the review team held meetings with the Minister of Finance, Attorney-General of the Federation, Office of the National Security Adviser and senior members of government departments, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and regulatory authorities.

“The review team also noted Nigeria’s political commitment to continue to develop and strengthen the AML/CFT framework as was very clearly stated by the Ministers. The RRG team further observed that the government confirmed its resolve to ensure that the relevant agencies working on AML/CFT issues are adequately empowered through legal and financial resources to fulfill their roles.

“Critically, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and the Minister of Finance also confirmed that the multi-agency Presidential Committee on the FATF (the chair of which has been the primary point of contact with the RRG throughout the ICRG process) would continue in existence as the national coordinating body for AML/CFT policy and implementation issues. It noted that all the respective agencies had a clear understanding of AML/CFT issues, and were able to show the extent to which procedures and resources were geared towards tackling the crime of money laundering and financing of terrorism, including through measures to ensure national co-ordination.

“In the recent past, Nigeria has received technical assistance from the IMF to develop a risk-based approach to AML/CFT supervision. This has resulted in the development of similar procedures across all regulatory authorities as well as the financial intelligence unit, namely the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Insurance Commission and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit. The authorities are now engaging with the World Bank to undertake a national risk assessment to provide a basis for further developing the overall AML/CFT regime and strategic framework. The Presidential Committee is committed to continuing the coordination of this process.

“It will also be recalled that due to the listing of Nigeria as a high-risk jurisdiction by the FATF, many financial institutions treaded cautiously in transacting business with their Nigerian counterparts. However, following political commitment by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, particularly in the past two years, Nigeria fast-tracked its implementation of the mutually agreed Action Plan.

“This commitment was underscored when the President constituted a Cabinet Committee headed by Vice President Namadi Sambo to accelerate the delisting of Nigeria from the list of jurisdictions with outstanding issues with the FATF as they relate to Anti-Money laundering/Counter Financing Terrorism regimes.

“With today’s delisting, Nigeria and Nigerian businesses are now free from the repercussions of being labeled a non-cooperating and high-risk jurisdiction in the aspect of money laundering and terrorists financing. It is expected that there will be great reduction in the costs and time line of financial transactions between individuals and institutions between Nigeria and other countries.

Besides the guarantee of improved global rating for the country’s financial system, the amended laws and regulations will strengthen the enforcement and regulatory capacities of relevant institutions in Nigeria.”

•Photo shows Stephen Oronsaye, Chairman, Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force.

Source News Express

Source: http://www.newsexpressngr.com/

How true is it.
So the fresh air has gotten to this stage.
Somebody should please covince me that this news is false.
By the way where are those APC PAID E-MOSQUITOES to come and tell us another story

@eguerilla I want to hear your thoughts on this..does it mean Jonathan is fighting corruption afterall?

Hmmmm

Nigeria has been moving in the right direction for some time now, thanks in no small measure to the tightening of loopholes by the CBN.

Since February 2010, when Nigeria made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and GIABA to address its strategic AML/CFT deficiencies, Nigeria has made significant progress to improve its AML/CFT regime.

Nigeria has largely addressed its action plan including by enacting legislation to adequately criminalise money laundering and terrorist financing; implementing procedures to identify and freeze terrorist assets; ensuring that customer due diligence requirements apply to all financial institutions; and improving the overall supervisory framework for AML/CFT.

The FATF will conduct an on-site visit to confirm that the process of implementing the required reforms and actions is underway to address deficiencies previously identified by the FATF.

Improving Global AML/CFT Compliance: On-going process - 21 June 2013

Good news.

That picture is disturbing, it should carry a warning of its graphic nature.

Yaa!! And about 2months ago, Nigeria won d BEST IMPLEMENTING COUNTRY IN THE WORLD on transparency in Oil/Mining Exploitation by EITI; yea, that right: Nigeria's NEITI won that award this year (this was after this same EITI threatened to suspend Nigeria about 2 years, same as this FATC did in 2010).

I just like President Jonathan. The guy, who unlike past Nigerian leaders and in spite of lots of NOISE made by Nigeria's plenty loud mouths, always keeps his cool and tries to work methodically by changing underlining Systems/Processes/Institutions in order to achieve long lasting Objectives in stead of only playing to d gallery and winning small 'victories' today.

In terms of Transperancy: signing d FOI Bill (Nigeria's most extensive move to OPEN up Governance, and a bill that EVERY other previous leada, including d last two, refused to consider); Greater Openness in Govt, including such 'details' as how much d State House spends in feeding itself and her guests (stuffs previously regarded as 'State Secrets' by past administrations); Pushing tru Nigeria's longest series of more transperant Elections in d nation's history (Anambra, Ondo, Adamawa, Sokoto, Edo, 2011, etc)- a KEY Prerequisite for more Openness; Instituting such programmes as IPPIS so as to track public spending, esp Salaries/Overheads, and d sanitation of d workforce of Ghost workers, etc; Instituting Processes that wud force Every tier of Govt and even Private Cops to use a Single Standard Accounting framework from Jan 2014- one of d 1st countries in Africa that wud start using d UN recommended system; Pushing tru d passage of d PIB Bill, a bill that wud radically change d face and current deep secrecy in d Oil/Gas Industry by amongst other tins breaking up d still very corrupt NNPC (of course, d Clowns at d NA hv been sitting on d bill for more than a year now and d HYPOCRITES who were initiali making lots of Noise b4 d President sent d bill to d NA hv all kept Mute whilst lawmakers sit on it); Etc, Etc.

Granted there is still LOTS OF WORK to be done in order to fight Corruption in this country (I wud be d 1st person to admit that, esp d need to constitute Special Courts/Judges for Corruption Cases in order to fasten up d embarrasingly snail slow speed that presently is the case), this Govt is doing a relatively Good job at Openness and Transperancy (certainly more than any previous Govt), and we have to ENGAGE the Govt in order to get even more lasting Results.

This is some good news. Well done to CBN. Anti money laundering campaign. Would love to explain the economic impact to the country and financial sector but I got to watch this liverpool v. Newcastle match.

taharqa: Yaa!! And about 2months ago, Nigeria won d BEST IMPLEMENTING COUNTRY IN THE WORLD on transperacy in Oil/Mining Exploitation by EITI; yea, that right: Nigeria's NEITI won that award this year.....I just like President Jonathan. The guy, who unlike past Nigerian leaders and in spite of d lots of NOISE by Nigerian many loud mouths, keeps his cool and try to work methodically by changing underlining Systems/Processes/Institutions in order to achieve long lasting Objectives in stead of only playing to d gallery and winning small 'victories' today... In terms of Transperancy: signing d FOI Bill (Nigeria's most extensive move to OPEN Governance, and a bill that EVERY other previous leada, including d last two, refused to consider); Greater Openess in Govt, including such things as how much d State House spends in feeding itself and her guests (stuffs previously regarded as 'State Secrets'); Pushing tru Nigeria's longest series of more transperant Elections in d nations history (Anambra, Ondo, Adamawa, Sokoto, Edo, 2011, etc)- a KEY Prerequisite for more Openess; Instituting such programmes like IPPIS so as to track public spending, esp Salaries, and d sanitation of d workforce of Ghost workers, etc; Instituting Processes that wud force Every tier of Govt and even Private Cop to use 1 Accounting framework from Jan 2014; Pushing tru d passage of d PIB Bill, a bill that wud radically change d face and current deep secrecy in d Oil/Gas Industry by amongst other tins breaking up d still very corrupt NNPC (of course, d Clowns at d NA hv been sitting on d bill for more than a year now and d HYPOCRITES who were making lots of Noise b4 d President sent d bill to d NA hv all kept Mute whilst lawmakers sit on it); Etc, Etc....... Granted there is still LOTS OF WORK needed in order to fight Corruption in this country (I wud be d 1st person to say that, esp d need to constitute Special)

You are right,
there is definitely more openness in govt.
Sanusi sure has some good policies going for him.

FRESH AIR. Let's celebrate as Nigerians would now be allowed to register with Paypal and also do business with online merchants without being discriminated against.

.

awodman: @eguerilla I want to hear your thoughts on this..does it mean Jonathan is fighting corruption afterall?

No sir, Nigeria has been moving in the right direction on this front in spite of Jonathan's devil-may-care attitude to corruption, and not because of any concerted efforts being made to stem its spread.

It is to the 2013 Africa Central Bank Governor of the Year that I give credit on this one.

Politicians Stacking Dollars For 2015 polls –Sanusi



Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lamido Sanusi, on Wednesday provided further insight into Tuesday’s ban on currency importation into Nigeria without prior approval, blaming the covetous demand for United States dollars on politicians who are preparing for the 2015 general elections.

The CBN, Sanusi told Reuters news agency, had noticed a surge in demand for dollars at the forex bureaus in July, which showed that something was amiss after several months of spending huge resources to defend the naira and ensure its stability.

This has also dealt a heavy blow on the nation’s foreign reserves currently at an eight-month low, he added.

Last weekend also, the apex bank revoked the operating licences of 20 bureaus-de-change as part of measures to curb foreign exchange abuses in the sub-sector.

It then issued new guidelines to ensure closer monitoring of transactions in the market.

Investigations, Sanusi further said, showed tens of billions of naira were traded for dollars in cash, much more than importers needed to buy goods or investors to repatriate funds, and there was no trace of where the money came from or where it was going.

“Obviously, this was some form of money laundering to cover all the trails. And with interest rates as high as they are, the only people who can take that much naira and buy dollars are people who are not borrowing their money.”

The prime suspects, he said, are politicians jockeying for position ahead of what looks likely to be bitterly divisive 2015 polls.

Sanusi blamed the “dollarisation of the economy by political elite” for continued weakness of the naira.

This, he lamented, was despite the CBN’s moves to prop it up with dollar sales that have depleted its reserves to an eight-month low.

The naira closed at N161.55 to the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, which according to Bloomberg report on Monday, fell 1.1 per cent, representing the biggest fall since January 2012.

Daily Independent reported on September 2 that the nation’s foreign reserves pool declined by $2 billion or 4.09 per cent between April when it closed at $48.853 billion, and $46.85 billion on August 29, citing CBN data.

Between that time and September 27, Nigeria’s reserves dropped by a further $1.377 billion or 2.93 per cent, closing at $45.476 billion on Monday, September 30, a level it last closed eight months ago on January 23.

Some economists disputed this explanation of the currency’s troubles, but it highlights the economic risks of Nigeria’s costly and often violent pre-election politics.

Nigeria’s growth rate of more than 6.5 per cent and its huge consumer market remain big attraction for foreign investors, but they worry about stability and the country’s tendency to squander its windfall as Africa’s biggest oil producer.

Worse still for the already overheated polity, Reuters continued, is the feud between President Goodluck Jonathan and rivals in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over his intention to seek another term, which is distracting from vital economic reforms.

A bill to reform the oil industry, which feeds 80 per cent of government revenue, is stuck in the National Assembly and unlikely to pass before the elections.

While Northerners feel that another spell in office for Jonathan would break an unwritten rule that the Presidency should rotate between North and South every two terms, there are those who are disappointed with his record on tackling security challenges like the Boko Haram insurgency in the North.

“The crisis in the PDP is very deep, and I don’t see them resolving these issues … It is such an open and destructive fight,” said Jibrin Ibrahim, Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development, an Abuja-based think-tank.

“The Northern political class feels it needs to get back into power, and the President will do all he can to stay in.

“The more contentious the election, the more funds will be utilised to fight it, both at federal and state levels,” said Kayode Akindele, partner at Lagos-based advisory 46-Parallels.

Thanks largely to the feud, unofficial campaigning has begun almost two years early, so politicians will need to sustain spending on patronage for longer.

Such spending can come from politicians’ private interests, but there are other ways, including state money for projects that benefit constituents, and government contracts for allies.

The report quoted Bismarck Rewane, Chief Executive of Lagos-based Financial Derivatives, as saying “the need of politicians to spend money now will be a big drag on the economy. If it comes from the treasury, the fiscal deficit will widen, you’ll get more inflation, the naira will weaken.”

There is also widespread concern that some politicians profit from criminal gangs that make money from kidnapping, extortion or the theft of oil from the Niger Delta.

Nigeria’s oil savings account had almost $9 billion in December. By March it had fallen to $5.8 billion, after several withdrawals, including two distributions of $1 billion to Governors for constituency projects. It has not recovered.

Source

MostIncredible.DFirst:
FRESH AIR. Let's celebrate as Nigerians would now be allowed to register with Paypal and also do business with online merchants without being discriminated against.

Exactly!! At least, substantially.... The ramifications of this is huge

eGuerrilla:

No sir, Nigeria has been moving in the right direction on this front in spite of Jonathan's devil-may-care attitude to corruption, and not because of any concerted efforts being made to stem its spread.

It is to the 2013 Africa Central Bank Governor of the Year that I give credit on this one.



Source

Don't give people d opportunity to think that you are a Foool, Bros. You are usuali better than this...

eGuerrilla:

No sir, Nigeria has been moving in the right direction on this front in spite of Jonathan's devil-may-care attitude to corruption, and not because of any concerted efforts being made to stem its spread.

It is to the 2013 Africa Central Bank Governor of the Year that I give credit on this one.



Source

Really?..please who does Sanusi get approvals before going ahead with his policies?..Is sanusi now an independent body of his own?..So Sanusi is no longer a member of the Economic management team?..pls learn to give credit when its due and give thumbs down when necessary..that is how true patroits behave

taharqa: Don't give people d opportunity to think that you are a Foool, Bros. You are usuali better than this...

Perhaps it is simply the case that I have a better understanding of the separation of roles within our polity than you do.
When Jonathan starts fighting corruption, I will be the first to let you know.

awodman:
Really?..please who does Sanusi get approvals before going ahead with his policies?..Is sanusi now an independent body of his own?..So Sanusi is no longer a member of the Economic management team?..pls learn to give credit when its due and give thumbs down when necessary..that is how true patroits behave

See my previous reply.

eGuerrilla:

Perhaps it is simply the case that I have a better understanding of the separation of roles within our polity than you do.
When Jonathan starts fighting corruption, I will be the first to let you know.

e-gorila, I like you but this is yr last warning .... You are usuali not this Ignorant, and only a VERY VERY IGNORANT pesin wud attribute a feat such as implementing d multi-sectoral Laws, Regulations and Processes needed to get tru this sort of delisting to 1 body, CBN. Read the Article you posted yrself again; pay particularly attention to d Statement of FATC itself. Voila!!.... Oh! By d way, who does d CBN Governor and Board work for sef? You??

taharqa: e-gorila, I like you but this is yr last warning

Listen taharqa, it is the anonymity afforded by this medium which allows some of us to pound our chests like the real life gorillas we actually are.
But for this, you would not have the temerity to issue moi any kind of warning.

Tell GEJ to sit up and attend to the growing pile of cases arraigned against some of his benefactors and closest allies, and I might change my mind about his tenure.

Until then, zip it and let's focus of the wider implications of our removal from FATF's list of monitored countries.

eGuerrilla:

Listen taharqa, it is the anonymity afforded by this medium which allows some of us to pound our chests like the real life gorillas we actually are.
But for this, you would not have the temerity to issue moi any kind of warning.

Tell GEJ to sit up and attend to the growing pile of cases arraigned against some of his benefactors and closest allies, and I might change my mind about his tenure.

Until then, zip it and let's focus of the wider implications of our removal from FATF's list of monitored countries.

shattap! shattap!! shattap!!! ........... By d way, that comment is now full now; I added an assignment for you ..... Yea, you are right: lets dispense with this argument on who did Or did not do what, and focus more on d implications of d delisting, esp for businesses

eGuerrilla:

See my previous reply.

Did you even read your post before opening your mouth to spew rubbish..maybe you need to read the quote below

“This commitment was underscored when the President
constituted a Cabinet Committee headed by Vice
President Namadi Sambo to accelerate the delisting of
Nigeria from the list of jurisdictions with outstanding
issues with the FATF as they relate to Anti-Money
laundering/Counter Financing Terrorism regimes.

This exclusion from the list is as a result of the work by one of the numerous committee set up by GEJ which you guys lynch him for..do you even know who the chairman of this committee is?

Don't allow your hatred for Jonathan consume you..give him kudos when he deserves it

Awodman & Taharqa

awodman:
Did you even read your post before opening your mouth to spew rubbish..maybe you need to read the quote below

This exclusion from list is as a result of the work by one of the numerous committee set up by GEJ which you guys lynch him for..do you even know who the chairman of this committee is?

Don't allow your hatred for Jonathan consume you..give him kudos when he deserves it

Biko @awodman, can you start to quote that article from when the FATC's statement started to to this, then highlight and post it. So we can lay this to rest... Cud hv done so but for my fone. Thnks

awodman:
Did you even read your post before opening your mouth to spew rubbish..maybe you need to read the quote below

This exclusion from list is as a result of the work by one of the numerous committee set up by GEJ which you guys lynch him for..do you even know who the chairman of this committee is?

Don't allow your hatred for Jonathan consume you..give him kudos when he deserves it

What hatred are you talking about here?
Since when did holding someone to the same set of standards you hold yourself become hatred?

You asked a specific question about 'corruption', I gave you a specific answer.
Now you wider the goal posts by raising pedestrian questions like: "who does Sanusi report to"?

When Soludo make an attempt to re-denominate the Naira, it was his idea - informed no doubt by the quality of advisers he had - and guess what; for good or bad, he ultimately fell on his own sword.

I don't go around ascribing every bad deed to the President, just as I refrain from giving him kudos that have not been earned.

Call it tough standards - if you will - but "hatred" it ain't!

Once again, I would rather stick with the theme of this thread, so as not to lose sight of the topic it addresses.
Feel free to take me up on what you might consider 'hypocrisy' elsewhere.

Great news! Front page!

Meanwhile, @eguerilla..,stop embarrassing yaself on dis thread.

e-guerilla please read your post again oh!! It is clearly stated there!

Why una dey attack @Op? If he hated Jonathan, he wouldn't have brought a news that highlight one of this administration's achievements. Why do some of us refer to those who critic this administration as haters? GEJ is doing well in certain aspect and deserves commendation, but this exaggerated sense of gratitude is a no-no for me.

take dat: Why una dey attack @Op? If he hated Jonathan, he wouldn't have brought a news that highlight one of this administration's achievements. Why do some of us refer to those who critic this administration as haters? GEJ is doing well in certain aspect and deserves commendation, but this exaggerated sense of gratitude is a no-no for me.

they started attacking him when he arrogated the achievement to cbn gov.

oldenglish: they started attacking him when he arrogated the achievement to cbn gov.

Thank you very much

eGuerrilla:

What hatred are you talking about here?
Since when did holding someone to the same set of standards you hold yourself become hatred?

You asked a specific question about 'corruption', I gave you a specific answer.
Now you wider the goal posts by raising pedestrian questions like: "who does Sanusi report to"?

When Soludo make an attempt to re-denominate the Naira, it was his idea - informed no doubt by the quality of advisers he had - and guess what; for good or bad, he ultimately fell on his own sword.

I don't go around ascribing every bad deed to the President, just as I refrain from giving him kudos that have not been earned.

Call it tough standards - if you will - but "hatred" it ain't!

Once again, I would rather stick with the theme of this thread, so as not to lose sight of the topic it addresses.
Feel free to take me up on what you might consider 'hypocrisy' elsewhere.

I believe you don't have comprehension problem..please read your post again..maybe this time slowly with your thinking faculty switched on

@tharqa..done

“The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary has
removed Nigeria from its Public Statement following the
country’s full implementation of the mutually agreed
Action Plan and the exhibition of a clear political
commitment to continue the development of its Anti-
Money Laundering/ Combating the Financing of
Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.

“In a statement issued on Friday, October 18, 2013, in
Paris, France, the FATF expressed satisfaction with the
political will displayed by Nigeria in improving its Global AML/CFT Compliance.

“Critically, the Attorney-General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice and the Minister of Finance also
confirmed that the multi-agency Presidential Committee on the FATF (the chair of which has been the primary point of contact with the RRG throughout the ICRG process) would continue in existence as the national coordinating body for AML/CFT policy and
implementation issues.

“It will also be recalled that due to the listing of Nigeria
as a high-risk jurisdiction by the FATF, many financial
institutions treaded cautiously in transacting business
with their Nigerian counterparts. However, following
political commitment by President Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan, particularly in the past two years, Nigeria fast-
tracked its implementation of the mutually agreed
Action Plan.

“It is expected that there will be great reduction in the
costs and time line of financial transactions between
individuals and institutions between Nigeria and other
countries. Besides the guarantee of improved global
rating for the country’s financial system, the amended
laws and regulations will strengthen the enforcement
and regulatory capacities of relevant institutions in
Nigeria,” said Stephen Oronsaye, Chairman, Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force.

The authorities are now engaging with
the World Bank to undertake a national risk assessment
to provide a basis for further developing the overall
AML/CFT regime and strategic framework. The
Presidential Committee is committed to continuing the
coordination of this process.

take dat: Why una dey attack @Op? If he hated Jonathan, he wouldn't have brought a news that highlight one of this administration's achievements. Why do some of us refer to those who critic this administration as haters? GEJ is doing well in certain aspect and deserves commendation, but this exaggerated sense of gratitude is a no-no for me.

One must forgive their never ending obsequiousness, as that much is to be expected.

When OBJ was moving us in the right direction with FATF on the one hand while laundering money through the likes of Andy Uba, I called him out.
So why should Jonathan's abhorrence for an anti-corruption campaign be considered any differently?.

@awodman, if you are interested in debating me henceforth, you are going to have to watch your choice of language.