The Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and Sierra Leone’s Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA-SL) have recently conferred with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Commissioner, Francis Ben Kaifala Esq., to discuss collaborative strategies against financial crimes. The meeting, held on August 7, 2024, at the Integrity House in Freetown, focused on addressing money laundering and related transnational economic crimes.
The delegation, led by FIA-SL Director General David Borbor, included Edwin W. Harris Jnr., Executive Director of GIABA, and other key figures from GIABA and FIA-SL. The purpose of the consultation was to review GIABA’s initiatives and Sierra Leone’s role in combating financial crimes, including the possibility of hosting GIABA’s next plenary session.
Borbor highlighted the need for addressing strategic deficiencies identified in Sierra Leone’s 2019 mutual evaluation, which revealed weaknesses such as limited use of technology and inadequate awareness of anti-money laundering measures. He emphasized the critical role of the ACC in overcoming these challenges and requested further support for FIA-SL’s transition to a fully-fledged agency, including the establishment of a central authority for processing financial crime investigations.
GIABA’s Harris commended the ACC’s collaborative efforts and noted the importance of overcoming issues highlighted in the evaluation report to improve the country’s performance and international standing. He also suggested that the ACC support the FIA-SL in acquiring dedicated facilities and additional resources.
In response, Commissioner Kaifala expressed his support for the partnership and the importance of regional cooperation to tackle cross-border financial crimes. He acknowledged the challenges but assured that with sustained collaboration and resources, significant progress can be made. The ACC has recently established a new Directorate for managing assets recovered from economic crimes and enhanced its Financial Intelligence Unit with forensic accountants to better address these issues.
This engagement underscores the commitment of Sierra Leone’s institutions to strengthen anti-money laundering frameworks and improve the country’s financial crime prevention mechanisms.
