In view of the growing rate of financial crimes in Africa and around the world, experts who spoke at the general meeting of the Association of Chief Compliance Officers of Banks in Nigeria (ACCOBIN), said the only way out is for organisations to upgrade their level of compliance to meet international standards.
A Thomas Reuters survey conducted in 2018 showed that Africa has some of the highest rates of financial crime and a higher percentage of companies affected by fraud, theft, money laundering or other financial crimes than the global average. The survey found that as much as 53 percent of the companies that responded to the survey have been victims of financial crimes, compared to the global average of 47 percent.
René Lamberts, Executive Channel Manager MEA at Accuity, during the ACCOBIN meeting, said that international standard-setters are critical for promoting a level-playing field in financial crime compliance. Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Wolfsberg and the Basel Committee are prominent organizations promoting best compliance practices, raising awareness on Anti-money laundering risks and putting pressure for the implementation of efficient AML framework (Mutual Evaluations).
“The financial services industry in Nigeria needs to collaborate to win this war against financial
crime. These criminals are inventive in finding new ways to exploit regulatory loopholes. We, therefore, have to keep on innovating through technology and regulatory compliance to secure
loose ends.” Lamberts said
The general meeting brought together compliance professionals and representatives from regulatory and law enforcement agencies like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) etc. provides a platform for topical discussions geared towards the improvement of financial compliance standards in the country.
