•Wants stronger sanction against offenders
By Merit Ibe
Former director of Evaluation and Compliance at GIABA, Dr Buno Nduka, yesterday lamented the effect of money laundering on the Nigerian Economy.
Speaking at the Nigeria Capital Market Institute training on AML\CFT for journalists in Lagos, Nduka decried the huge lose of financial and human resources in the economy due to the activities of money launderers, regretting however that often times legitimate governments are being controlled by money launderers and financiers of terrorrism and terrorist acts.
He said the fight against ML/FT is a global issue due in the operations of the criminals who may never stop thinking of new methods, techniques and avenues to continue their illicit business.
Dr Nduka emphasised the need for a global collaboration to stamp out money laundering and terror financing through implementation of measures like (anti- money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism(AML\CFT framework ), saying that such activities have continued to threaten global peace and security, soundness and stability of financial systems as well as the overall economies.
The former GIABA boss listed the effects of money laundering to include depletion of resources meant for the provision of basic goods;
increase in cost of governance; weakening of legitimate government; and a shift in balance of economic power from responsible and responsive entities to rogues who have no political or social accountability.
Other negative effects of the illicit trade according to him include the loss of revenue to government; heightened insecurity; weakening of financial institutions and the scaring away of foreign investors into the Nigerian markets.
He said the trend creates a negative image of countries at the international level while increasing criminal tendencies, and corruption in the country.
Above all, Nduka said the menace of money laundering laundering and financial terrorism also hinder the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as envisaged by the United Nations
In recognition of the negative effects of traditional crimes, especially money laundering and terrorist financing, he advocated appropriate anti-money laundering and combating of financing of terrorism measures have been designed to ensure that economies, especially financial systems are not used to launder the proceeds of crime and or to finance terrorist acts.
He pointed out that the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing is the responsibility of everybody. “The active involvement of the mass media in the implementation of effective AML\CFT measures in our countries is important.”
In his presentation, Dr Emomotimi, Agama, who spoke on the rule of crowd funding, described it as an umbrella term describing the use of small amounts of money, obtained from a large number of individuals or organisations, to fund a project, a business or personal loan, and other needs through an online web-based platform..
“In January 2021, the Commission released the rules for the regulation of the currently unregulated crowdfunding activities in Nigeria. The Rules detail the regulatory framework by which companies can raise debt or equity capital through crowdfunding, as well as the eligibility criteria and obligations of issuers, crowdfunding portals and crowdfunding intermediaries.”
Under the Regulation, all MSMEs incorporated as a company in Nigeria with a minimum of two years operating track record are eligible to raise funds through a Crowdfunding Portal registered by the Commission, in exchange for the issuance of shares, bonds/debentures, simple investment contracts or such other investment instrument as the SEC may determine from time to time. In addition to detailing the crowdfunding process, the Rules provide for the major participants/channels in the crowdfunding space, as follows the Crowdfunding Portal, the Crowdfunding Intermediary, the Issuer and the Investor. The Rules have been viewed by stakeholders as a step in the right direction, particularly given its overarching benefit, including driving national economic growth and allowing MSMEs raise much-needed capital required to finance businesses/projects within a regulated and structured framework. For investors, it opens up a wider pool of investment opportunities, as it provides retail investors with genuine investment options, other than Ponzi Schemes.