By Babajide Komolafe

Securing convictions in prosecution of money laundering cases is critical to success of measures to fight money laundering and terrorism financing.

Director General of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA),  Alhaji Abdulahi Shehu Yibaikwal said  this on Monday  at the official presentation of  a book titled ‘Strategies and Techniques of Prosecuting Economic and Financial Crimes’.

He said  “National and regional capacities to investigate cases and bring them to Court have been greatly enhanced over the past 6 years.

However, all that work can come to nil if convictions are not then secured. Thus, one final and crucial step in the chain of opposition to money laundering (ML) and Terrorism Financing (TF), including issues of corruption, is the strengthening of the capacity of prosecutors to successfully prosecute cases in court in order to obtain convictions and deny criminals the benefit of their ill-gotten gains. That is the aim of the book we are presenting today. This book has been published as part of our technical assistance to member states.”

Speaking on the rationale for the book, he said, “As a leader of the regional alliance against transnational organized crime, my goal is not to determine the direction of the wind of change in criminal justice, but to inspire and adjust the sails – and that is the main thrust of the book to be presented today.

The book seeks to provide some guidance to officials who are involved in the prosecution of economic and financial crimes. It reviews contending issues, provoking some thoughts, especially on the ways in which the capacity of prosecutors should be enhanced to effectively deal with economic and financial crimes.

“In short, it aims to strengthen the integrity and professionalism of prosecutors. Interested users will find the book useful not only in understanding the nature and patterns of economic and financial crimes, but also the challenges that developing countries, in particular, face in dealing with these problems.

The book draws inspiration from experiences of many jurisdictions, which suggest that to successfully deal with these menaces, strong laws are vital, and this view has been held by the courts to represent a proportionate response to an insidious problem.

“In many case laws, the courts have accepted that if economically motivated crimes are to be combated, there should be a balance between individual rights and the wider public interest. Respect for human rights, is after all, integral to crime prevention and detection, the administration of justice, and indeed, the trial of suspects.

“Looking into the future, we can only be certain of one thing – there will continue to be changes in the conditions and circumstances which form the context in which we fight economic and financial crimes within the rule of law. And for the crusade to remain effective, we must strengthen the capacities of investigators, prosecutors and also judges to adapt appropriately, to take into account these changes.

Hence, our technical assistance program consisting of provisions of legal advisory services, training for investigators and prosecutors, as well as capacity building programs for judges, will continue to target the specific areas that we can make the maximum impact in our regional fight against organized crime, in particular the laundering of the proceeds of crime and the financing of terrorism.”