The newly passed Money Laundering and Terrorism Acts have been described by experts and stakeholders in the financial sector as an advanced weapon that will give Nigeria’s fight against corruption and terrorism a significant boost.
The Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2022, the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2022, which was recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, repeals the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2011, and Money Laundering Prohibition Act.
Speaking at an event on combating money laundering and terrorism financing organised by the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) on Thursday in Abuja, experts explained that the new laws clearly define terrorism and corruption as well as the various roles that anti-graft agencies should play in tackling the issues, compared to the previous laws.
Itse Sagay, a senior lawyer and chairman of PACAC, said the scope of the money laundering act, exceeds what was normally considered as money laundering to include institutions and provisions, not contained in the 2011 Act.
For example, Sagay said the law creates a new body within the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) called the Special Control Unit for the effective implementation of money laundering provisions of the act in relation to the designated non-financial businesses and professions.
“This emphasis on the inclusion of non-financial institutions within the operations of the act is an acknowledgment of the significant financial activities of lawyers, and accountants particularly, who engage in the movement of money on behalf of their clients.
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Thus the scope of this act is very comprehensive and greatly exceeds what we normally consider money laundering.
“It is for this reason I believe, that the draftsman did not include the definition of money laundering in the act. It is a sweeping piece of legislation that covers every type of illegitimate financial transaction not only through the banks but also through non-financial bodies and even between individuals.
“Its provisions are meant to guarantee that no unlawful financial transaction can go outside the ambit of the EFCC. This is most welcome in our present situation in which financial crimes proliferate so much that it is almost choking this country’s economy,” Sagay explained.
He expressed concern about growing terrorism in Nigeria, citing Boko Haram in the north-east, bandits and kidnappers in the north-west and north-central, herdsmen terrorists in the north-central, south-west and south-south, and deadly unknown gunmen in the south-east.
Sagay, however, expressed the optimism that terrorism (prevention and prohibition) provides an effective, unified and comprehensive legal regulatory and institutional framework for the detection, prevention, prohibition, prosecution and punishment of acts of terrorism, terrorism financing, the proliferation of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction in Nigeria.
“This act gives Nigeria the power to proclaim a person or any entity as terrorist or terrorist financier. It also gives Nigerian courts extra/territorial jurisdiction in relation to terrorism financing. It also contains provisions for freezing, search and seizure, confiscation and forfeiture of terrorist property. Unlike the money laundering act, the terrorism act defines terrorism comprehensively in Section 2 in extremely wide terms.
“There are altogether about 20 different situations constituting terrorism in the act. Given the scourge of universal violence, nationwide, the act can be described as containing provisions and punishments that are not only contemporary but also fit the gravity of the crime of terrorism,” he explained.
Sadiq Radda, the executive secretary, PACAC, said it was important to create more awareness about the provisions of the law, both for citizens in the country and the diaspora, including foreigners.
He said Nigeria needed to pay more attention to money laundering, especially the places where money is being laundered to. He said Nigeria wouldn’t win the war against corruption if these ‘safe heavens still exist’.
