The Federal Government has urged African countries to adopt a risk-based approach to implementing the Financial Action Task Force’s Recommendation 8, warning that excessive regulation of non-profit organisations could undermine humanitarian work while doing little to curb terrorism financing.
The call was made on Wednesday in Abuja during the 3rd Africa High-Level Civil Society Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Conference, themed “Implementing FATF Recommendation 8 Correctly: Practices, Lessons Learned and Opportunities for Reform.”
The conference brought together anti-money laundering experts, government agencies, civil society organisations and international partners to examine Nigeria’s compliance with FATF standards and explore how its experience could guide other African countries preparing for future mutual evaluations.
Representing the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, the Director of the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering, Harry Erin, said Nigeria’s experience showed that compliance with global anti-money laundering standards should strengthen institutions without restricting legitimate civil society activities.
