Politics
By Anthony Isibor
FOLLOWING the plan to pull Nigeria out of the Financial Action Task Force “Grey List” before 2027, a one-day interactive workshop was held on Tuesday in Lagos by the Nigerian Financial Intelligent Unit, NFIU, and the NBA Section on Business Law, SBL.
The workshop focused majorly on “Enabling an effective AML/CFT/CPF Compliance: The role of Legal practitioners” and “Lawyers as gatekeepers in AML/CFT/CPF Ecosystem: Appraisal of International Standards”
It will be recalled that in February 2023, the FATF placed Nigeria on its “Grey List” indicating that Nigeria is under increased monitoring by the FATF for financial crimes.
With the lack of compliance by the legal professionals being considered as one of the major reasons for Nigeria’s inclusion in the Grey 2023 List by FATF, the workshop became even more imperative.
While the FCL recommendation insists that Legal Counsels should report the criminal activities of their clients, the main challenge arises when client privileges are infringed upon because the privileges of these clients are protected by the law.
However, Babajide Ogundipe, Co-Chair, NBA Anti-Money Laundering Committee, disagrees with the assertion, insisting that there is no evidence from the 12019 GIABA report to back up this claim describing it as unacceptable.
Ogundipe therefore called for collaboration between the financial crimes agencies, including the NFIU and lawyers.
However, Muazu Umar, Director, Policy and Research, GIABA, explained that Nigeria has the most significant deficiency in compliance as long as GIABA is concerned.
He explained that even though every country is subjected to the same regulations, Nigerian lawyers have refused to comply with some of these AML regulations.
Buno Nduka, member, IBA Regulation of Lawyers Committee, called on lawyers to familiarise themselves with the 40 recommendations of the AML so as to understand their role and responsibilities.
Similarly, Felix C. Obiamalu, General Counsel, NFIU, noted that although a lawyer is only obligated by law to report STR, Suspicious Transaction Report and SAR, Suspicious Activities Report, it was important for them to be up to date with all the requirements.
According to him, lawyers are not the target, but are partners in the fight against financial crimes in the country.
He thanked the NFIU for the collaborative efforts in the fight against financial crimes in the country.
A.I
Jan. 28, 2025
Tags: Babajide Ogundipe Buno Nduka NFIU
