By Florence Amagiya

Financial crime is a major global problem, and combating it requires effective leadership at all levels. This was reiterated at the Fin-Crime Summit, which was recently held in Ikeja, Lagos.

The summit, which brought together experts from various sectors highlighted the challenges and opportunities in the fight against financial crime. Speakers also offered concrete recommendations for how to improve financial crime compliance.

In his opening remarks, Prof. Shittu Sanny, Vice Chancellor/Registrar of the Institut Universitaire du Benin (IUB), emphasized the importance of addressing financial crime through advanced leadership principles and techniques.

Professor Ehi Eric Esoimeme, a renowned expert in public law and financial crime compliance, delivered the first presentation of the summit.

Esoimeme’s presentation addressed the obstacles to implementation of new technologies in banks known as Regulatory Technology (RegTech) and the cross-border financial crime risks that are of priority concern to African Continental Free Trade Areas.

During his presentation, Esoimeme addressed the obstacles to implementation of new technologies in Banks known as Regulatory Technology (RegTech), such as Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, big data, and advanced cognitive analytics/algorithms targeting customer identification and verification requirements, and broader Financial Action Task Force( FATF) standards and other regulatory frameworks under three distinct headings of national barriers, legal barriers, institutional and operational barriers.

The focus was on mobile and internet banking transactions. Esoimeme’s presentation also included practical recommendations, directed toward the regulatory authorities, to improve data sharing mechanisms and encourage a strong culture of compliance.

During the second presentation at the Summit, Professor Ehi Eric Esoimeme, identified the cross-border financial crime risks that are of priority concern to African Continental Free Trade Areas. This includes but not limited to bribery and corruption, illicit finance activity, modern slavery, drug trafficking and trade-based money laundering.

The presentation showed how countries can assess and mitigate these risks through policy, training and collaboration. The third presentation of the Summit was delivered  by Rezaul Karim (Assistant Vice President – Compliance, HSBC Bangladesh)  and he outlined the consequences of ineffective anti-money laundering leadership and the strategies for building and leading anti-money laundering teams.  In the last phase of his presentation, Karim identified the leadership challenges and solutions, and the key best practices for effective anti-money laundering leadership.

The final presentation by Professor Paul Allieu Kamara, who happens to be a Professor of Leadership and Administration and Public Relations Officer at Rudolph Kwanue University, Liberia demonstrates how Anti-FinCrime leaders in the African Continental Free Trade Area can resolve complex problems in their organizations by defining the problem extensively, structuring the problem, prioritizing issues, conducting analysis, synthetizing findings and developing recommendations, and presenting findings and recommendations effectively.

Ehi Eric Esoimeme, a renowned expert in public law and financial crime compliance, was recently awarded Associate Professorship from Rudolph Kwanue University (Liberia) and Full Professorship from African Union University (Ethiopia). He is a prolific author and researcher, having published more than 50 publications, including ten books on financial crime compliance. His work on corruption and anti-corruption has been featured on Harvard Law School’s bibliography on the topic.

In addition to his academic achievements, Esoimeme is also a well-respected community leader. He is the founder of the Concerned Residents of Surulere Advocacy Group, which advocates against electricity fraud and promotes the use of prepaid metres.

At the  Award Ceremony/Fin-Crime Summit,  Esoimeme  received the Doctorate in Economics, Banking and Finance (Honoris Causa), Doctorate in International Relations (Honoris Causa) and Certificate of Membership of Board of Trusteeship from Institu Universitare Du Benin (IUB) University.

He also received a special award of recognition from the Nigeria Police Force, Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) Area C Command for his selfless service to humanity, rare display of love to the Nigerian Police and Philanthropic Dispositions.

The financial crimes summit was a resounding success, and it highlighted the importance of effective leadership in combating financial crimes. The summit’s speakers provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities in this field, and they offered concrete recommendations on how to improve financial crime compliance.