Saturday, September 20, 2014

Seized $9.3m: Sanction FG, SERAP asks FATF

THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability  Project (SERAP) has petitioned  the President of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Mr. Roger Wilkins,  urging him to “urgently use your good offices and leadership to investigate admission by the government of Nigeria that it hired a private jet to convey $9.3 million in cash to procure arms from South Africa.”
The organization also asked Mr Wilkins to “consider this admission in the light of FATF standards on transportation of cash across borders, and to consider applying any appropriate sanctions and measures to deter this practice in the future.”
In the petition dated September 19 2014 and signed by SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organization said that, “under the mandatory FATF Special Recommendation IX (SR IX), jurisdictions including Nigeria are required to implement measures to detect and prevent the physical cross-border transportation of currency. The FATF has considered this as “one of the main methods used to move illicit funds, launder money and finance terrorism.”
According to the organization, “As the global standard setting body for anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism, FATF is best positioned to look into the matter. Nigeria is also a member of FATF.”
“We believe that this action by the government poses a risk to the integrity of the international financial system. Therefore, your prompt action in this matter would help to protect the international financial system from money laundering and financing of terrorism risks and to encourage greater compliance with the anti-money laundering standards,” the organization also said.

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