David Bobor, Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency, has committed to lead the fight in combating money laundering and terrorist financing during a press conference held at the Ministry of Information and Civic Education, Youyi building in Freetown.
Director Borbor said money laundering and terrorist financing are two prominent methods used by rogues, terrorists, and their surrogates to bankroll criminal activities worldwide. Though the two differ in many ways, they often exploit the same vulnerabilities in countries’ financial systems that allow for an inappropriate level of anonymity and lack of transparency in the execution of financial transactions.
This has caused a high level of risk and financial anxiety in many countries and regions of the world. In Sierra Leone, the vulnerabilities of our financial systems have been used over the years back to launder dirty money and plow it into the formal system, sometimes ending in funding the criminal activities of terrorists and non-state actors.
But since the formation of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa or GIABA, measures have been put in place and continue to be put in place, to curb, if not eliminate, the twin vices of money laundering and terrorist financing in the West Africa sub-region. GIABA was formally established as a specialized Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) institution by the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS in December 2000.
GIABA is charged with strengthening its member States’ capacity to prevent and control money laundering and terrorist financing in the region. It draws its membership from the fifteen (15) West African States. Two non-ECOWAS countries are members of GIABA: the Island of Comoros and Sao Tome and Principe.
For Sierra Leone, the GIABA mandate has been executed primarily by the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA). The FIA is saddled with the unenviable task of carrying out the mandate of GIABA, especially in fighting against money laundering, which ultimately could lead to terrorist financing.
Under the astute leadership of Director General David Bobor, the FIA has forged strategic alliances and partnerships with the Ministry of Justice and the Sierra Leone Police, developed policies locally that will enhance its efficiency, and collaborated internationally to forestall money laundering and eliminate terrorist financing.
His dynamic leadership has seen increased awareness of the risks and dangers of the twin vices. His collaborative efforts with the Ministry of Justice and SLP have culminated in the formulation of policies geared towards combating money laundering and forestalling terrorist financing.
One of the remarkable tasks Director Bobor has undertaken is an assessment of the potential areas of money laundering, which revealed the banking system as a principal source of the ugly financial practice, followed by the precious minerals sector. To minimize the risks and in an effort to check the practice, DG Bobor is collaborating with the NMA to bolster regulatory measures within the mining sector.
To alleviate the plight of people scammed by the My Residual Income Global Scheme and Super Advertise, the FIA had frozen the accounts of the two dubious entities. Working closely with the judiciary, a court-approved liquidation process has been reached, and claimants for the My Residual Income Global Scheme will be paid. The mercurial Director General of the FIA is working round the clock to ensure that financial institutions operating in Sierra Leone are properly vetted and that citizens are protected from exploitation and fleece.