Serious Fraud Office to be scrap
Gilbert Boyefio
In an effort to effectively combat the ascendency in white colour crimes in the country, plans are far advanced to scrap the Serious Fraud Office to pave way for the establishment of an Economic and Organised Crime Centre.
According to the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Mould Iddrissu, the SFO, as it is now, lacks the capacity to effectively combat white colour crimes.
Speaking at the first meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism, the Attorney-General disclosed that an Economic and Organised Crime Bill that seeks to replace the SFO Law-Act 466, which is an Act of Parliament, has been placed before parliament.
The Serious Fraud Office Act 466, 1993, established the SFO as a specialized agency of Government to monitor, investigate and, on the authority of the Attorney-General, prosecute any offence involving serious financial or economic loss to the state and to make provision for connected and incidental purposes.
Some restructuring of the institution of the SFO was initiated by Joe Ghartey, then A-G in the Ex-President Kufuor’s administration.
Meanwhile, Senior Staff of the SFO, The Statesman interviewed on the subject have welcomed this move on condition that it would expand their scope of work. They, however, expressed concern about the mode the restructuring will take. “We have not been told whether the current staff would be maintained, retrenched or re-employed. We are in the dark so far as such matters are concerned,” they lamented.
The Ministerial Committee is made up of representatives from the Attorney-General’s office, National Security Council, Bank of Ghana, the Ministries of Finance and Interior.
The Attorney-General said, in view of the dramatic impact of money laundering and financial terrorism on the economy, it is essential that a result-oriented approach be adopted with regard to implementing truly effective measures to counter the phenomenon.
She observed that since this is also a cross border and multi dimensional issue, Ghana needs to work with its neighbouring countries, noting that, “only through sharing of information, common planning and joint implementation can real success occur.”
Giving a brief report on the preliminary findings of the Inter Governmental Action against Money Laundering in West Africa assessors on Ghana’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing regime, Juliet Serwaa Asare, observed that a good foundation has been laid in the financial sector for an effective take off in the implementation of the Ant-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing measures.
However, the assessors pointed out that Ghana has not ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Crime 2000 and the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, 1999. They also found out that the institutional framework for the enforcement of the Anti-Money Laundering Act is not in place. The assessors further noted that in terms of enforcement of Anti-Money Laundering legislation only the Bureau of National Investigation and Bank of Ghana are aware of their roles. Law enforcement agencies have limited enforcement powers in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing issues.
Certain international standards cannot be implemented in Ghana because of its cash based economy and therefore the need for training and outreach to change certain industry practices.
In an effort to effectively combat the ascendency in white colour crimes in the country, plans are far advanced to scrap the Serious Fraud Office to pave way for the establishment of an Economic and Organised Crime Centre.
According to the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Mould Iddrissu, the SFO, as it is now, lacks the capacity to effectively combat white colour crimes.
Speaking at the first meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism, the Attorney-General disclosed that an Economic and Organised Crime Bill that seeks to replace the SFO Law-Act 466, which is an Act of Parliament, has been placed before parliament.
The Serious Fraud Office Act 466, 1993, established the SFO as a specialized agency of Government to monitor, investigate and, on the authority of the Attorney-General, prosecute any offence involving serious financial or economic loss to the state and to make provision for connected and incidental purposes.
Some restructuring of the institution of the SFO was initiated by Joe Ghartey, then A-G in the Ex-President Kufuor’s administration.
Meanwhile, Senior Staff of the SFO, The Statesman interviewed on the subject have welcomed this move on condition that it would expand their scope of work. They, however, expressed concern about the mode the restructuring will take. “We have not been told whether the current staff would be maintained, retrenched or re-employed. We are in the dark so far as such matters are concerned,” they lamented.
The Ministerial Committee is made up of representatives from the Attorney-General’s office, National Security Council, Bank of Ghana, the Ministries of Finance and Interior.
The Attorney-General said, in view of the dramatic impact of money laundering and financial terrorism on the economy, it is essential that a result-oriented approach be adopted with regard to implementing truly effective measures to counter the phenomenon.
She observed that since this is also a cross border and multi dimensional issue, Ghana needs to work with its neighbouring countries, noting that, “only through sharing of information, common planning and joint implementation can real success occur.”
Giving a brief report on the preliminary findings of the Inter Governmental Action against Money Laundering in West Africa assessors on Ghana’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing regime, Juliet Serwaa Asare, observed that a good foundation has been laid in the financial sector for an effective take off in the implementation of the Ant-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing measures.
However, the assessors pointed out that Ghana has not ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Crime 2000 and the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, 1999. They also found out that the institutional framework for the enforcement of the Anti-Money Laundering Act is not in place. The assessors further noted that in terms of enforcement of Anti-Money Laundering legislation only the Bureau of National Investigation and Bank of Ghana are aware of their roles. Law enforcement agencies have limited enforcement powers in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing issues.
Certain international standards cannot be implemented in Ghana because of its cash based economy and therefore the need for training and outreach to change certain industry practices.
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