The ECOWAS Court of Justice and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in Africa said they were intensifying efforts to combat money laundering in the region.
Mrs Awa Dbaboya, the President of the court, said this to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday.
NAN reports that GIABA, a specialised ECOWAS institution, is responsible for the prevention and control of money laundering and financing of terrorism in the region.
Daboya said that the devastating effects of crimes, including money laundering, had contributed to insecurity, hampering development in the ECOWAS region.
She said that the huge challenges faced by the region in the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism had compelled the court to work in collaboration with GIABA.
"The court of justice ECOWAS had a four years of vigorous work with GIABA because it needed to address the judges of the member states.
"These four years, the court was in charge of bringing together Francophone, anglophone, lusophone judges and even the high court judges and magistrate judges together.
"This was to sensitise them on money laundering, terrorism matters, particularly trans-border crimes," the president said.
She said that at the end of the four years, the ECOWAS set up national centres for financial information.
The centres, she said, had the capacity to receive, analyse and disseminate suspicious transaction reports which facilitated investigation and prosecution.
"All the centres have relationships with the banks and insurance, to ensure fight against money laundering.
"Our cooperation with GIABA enables that once information is received about any suspected money lodged in the bank, it is followed up and tracked down.
"Once someone is suspected or there is dirty money in a country, within 48 hours, the person is compelled to either run with the money or the money be seized.
"The same way, the extradition of criminals are made easier," she added.
The president further said that apart from the creation of the centres, there was a network of the solicitors general which for now were three.
She said they were efforts to curb the menace of money laundering which had destructive consequences and seriously undermined the economic development of the region.
Source NAN
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