In compliance with the requirement of the National Insurance Commission, the regulatory body of the insurance industry, members of the Lagos Area Committee (LAC) of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), underwent a training on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorists (AML/CFT) at the Insurance Brokers House in Yaba, Lagos, last Thursday.
The training is essentially to ensure that brokers are consciously or unconsciously not used to launder illicit money not used as conduit pipes to finance terrorism.
Welcoming participants to the training, Bukola Ifemade, the Lagos Area Committee Chairman, explained that the training is in compliance with the requirements of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).
“By regulatory requirements, it is very important for us to attend at least one training in a year like this one which is organised in partnership with AXA Mansard,” she said, adding that, “It is the wish of the executive members of the Lagos Area Council of NCRIB to see every broker do well and free from sanctions as a result of infractions. I welcome each of us to this training I wish us the best and a very nice day.”
The full-day training was facilitated by LeishTon Centre for Leadership and Governance Thinking and fully attended by members of the LAC.
McLeish Otuedon, Director, LeishTon Centre for Leadership and Governance Thinking, led the highly engaging and interactive training. Brokers were provided leading practice insights into the world of AML/CFT as well as the legal and regulatory frameworks guiding it, money laundering offences, predicate offences and sanctions, risk-based approach to effective to effective AML/CFT among others.
In a chat with the media, Ifemade while further giving rationale behind the training said that every year, practitioners in the industry, particularly brokers, being the professional marketing arm are mandated to have these trainings at least once in a year, with certificates. Trainings are to be provided by certified personnel or organisation on anti-money laundering.
She added that it is also in line with meeting the requirements of the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).
“Particularly at this time, aside meeting the regulatory requirements, there is going to be an international body, GIABA, coming into the country to measure or assess the anti-money laundry exercise in Nigeria.
“You know Nigeria has been facing this corruption issues and one of the ways of checkmating this is through anti-laundering efforts like this. GIABA officials are coming in October to do an assessment of the country. An assessment of the country means, they are going to assess the financial operators of which insurance brokers are one.”
She further stressed that the training is done in partnership with corporate organisations to ease costs members would have incurred going for such on their own.
“Many of our members do not have the financial capacities to meet up with many of these regulatory requirements. To attend this training on their own is going to dig a huge hole in their pockets. These people already have their own regular expenses they expend in running their regular day to day operations. They have a lot of subscriptions to be paid to regulators and government, etc.”
Israel Odubola
