By CHINEDU IBEABUCHI

Inter Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa, GIABA, said that if left unchecked, money laundering and terrorist undermine the integrity of economic, political and judicial systems and the stability and prosperity of nation states.

Dr. Abdullahi Shehu, Director General, GIABA, said in a training workshop on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) for North and West African States organised by the Swiss Confederation and the Federal Republic of Nigeria in collaboration with GIABA.

He said that these menaces can also lead to the breakdown of the orderliness of legitimate businesses, interfere with economic and other state policies, distort market conditions and ultimately create serious systemic risks and hemorrhage, adding that where financial institutions are involved in or tolerate money laundering, the result has been distress and collapse.

He said, “The plague of insecurity ravaging the entire world, the changing nature and ubiquity of transnational crimes, the excruciating and deleterious effects of money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) illuminate the importance of evolving enduring strategies that would stand the test of time.

“Every passing moment makes the world smaller as a result of globalization and technological advancement. The complex nature of money laundering and terrorist financing is a manifestation of modern day criminality, and the many ways in which they operate in practice make assessing the harm caused a daunting task.

“Despite the absence of precise estimates, one could imagine that sizeable proceeds of crime enter economies of states one way or another. The influence and power of organized criminal groups therefore increases, while the control and integrity of the government and major public and private institutions are correspondingly diminished.