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REGIONAL:Trade-Based Money Laundering and Counter-measures, 16-20/11/20
November 16, 2020 - November 20, 2020
What: Training on Trade-based Money Laundering and Counter Measures
Where: Online
When: 16 – 20 November 2020
Who: 25 participants, from 13 Countries – Regional Webinar
Context
The Greater Horn of Africa (GHoA), eastern and southern Africa are faced with multiple transnational criminal threats. Trafficking in human beings THB), smuggling of migrants (SoM), money laundering, terrorism financing and illicit financial flows are among the common serious and organised transnational threats in the region perpetrated by interlinked criminal syndicates and networks.
Human traffickers and migrant smugglers operating in the GHoA are likely to abuse the legal trade system in order to launder their illicit proceeds and/or finance their operations.
The Global Financial Integrity (GFI) 2020 report revealed that developing countries, including the GHoA countries, are losing significant amounts of money through trade-based illicit financial flows. Given the complexity of the international trade system, countries of the GHoA, and by extension the ESA, do not have adequate capacity to effectively regulate the system, verify transactions, detect and identify illegitimate or suspicious activities. Weak cross-border cooperation and relatively easier/faster movement of goods and corresponding finance have exacerbated the risks associated with the international trade system.
The training brought together law enforcement agencies (LEAs), financial intelligence units (FIUs), customs authorities, central banks and national security agencies from 13 countries from eastern and southern Africa (ESA).
Objectives
The main objective of this training was:
- To increase awareness of the prevalence and risk of Trade-Based Money Laundering; the context, scale, criminal networks and their financial flows in the GHoA;
- To strengthen the capacity of national institutions to detect, prevent, identify and disrupt trade-based illicit financial flows with an emphasis on Trafficking in Human Beings/Smuggling of Migrants crimes and criminal groups.
- To contribute to the capacities of the participants to better understand the risks and methods of TBML and put in place effective countermeasures.
- To increase the participants understanding of Money Laundering and Anti-Money Launderings frameworks
- To help participants gain skills in detecting, identifying suspicious activity, reporting, analysing, and investigating TBML
Outcome and Feedback
95% of participants believed that the training webinar was relevant and important, and the training/delivery of presentations was of high or very high quality.