Liberia’s Inter-Ministerial AML/CFT Steering Committee, which comprises law enforcement agencies, integrity, and accountability governmental institutions, has reinforced the activation of the Financial Crimes Working Group of Liberia to execute lawful, robust, and preventive measures that seek to identify risks associated with money laundering, trends, and methods launderers and criminals use to move proceeds of crimes around at the detriment of Liberia’s financial system.
Interacting during the integrity group’s inaugural meeting on May 7, 2024, in Monrovia, the country’s Inter-Ministerial Committee on Anti-Money Laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), and Proliferation Financing (PF) Chaired by the Ministry of Justice, elaborated that lawful actions shall be implemented by the Financial Intelligence Agency of Liberia (FIA) against individuals and entities that are allegedly involved into illicit financial activities that are creating severe threats at the disadvantage of national, regional and the global financial system.
Accordingly, the Inter-Ministerial AML/CFT Steering Committee has reenergized and given its support to the Financial Intelligence Agency of Liberia (FIA) to effectively perform its roles and responsibilities along with other competent authorities to take all necessary legal and regulatory actions such as confiscation of properties derived from proceeds of crimes belonging to individuals and entities; exercising appropriate AML/CFT regulations to serve as a deterrent.
Also, the Inter-Ministerial AML/CFT Steering Committee has commenced its oversight role within the AML/CFT/PF framework, sharing relevant information, advocating for improved budgetary support for FIA, enhancing inter-agency coordination, and collaboration; effectively carrying out lawful enforcement, and ensuring that dissemination to competent authorities is accelerated to ensure investigations and prosecutions against money launderers who are linked to money laundering and others who are supposedly involved in aiding and conceding financial crimes information.
Meanwhile, the Inter-Ministerial AML/CFT Steering Committee’s initial meeting for 2024 saw a huge attendance of competent authorities which include, the Liberia National Police (LNP), the National Security Agency of Liberia (NSA), the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS), the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), Ministries of Labor; Justice, and Commerce and Industry.
Other AML/CFT Steering Committee institutions that attended the gathering are the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Liberia Business Registry (LBR), Ministry of Mines & Energy, Ministry of Finance & Development Planning (Co-Chair on the IMC), and the Financial Intelligence Agency (Secretary to the IMC).