Gambia News : Regional body discusses anti-money laundering measures in Gambian capital

The Gambian Minister for the Interior, Ousman Sonko, on Tuesday in Banjul told participants at a workshop on money laundering investigation organized by the Inter-Governmental Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), that anti-money laundering measures create opportunities to detect, investigate and prosecute perpetrators and introduce varying legitimate powers to deprive criminals of their assets.

Sonko added that international standards now require countries to provide the necessary tools to the authorities charged with combating money laundering as well as the underlying criminals that generate illegal proceeds.

He remarked,”Some of these tools include providing law enforcement agencies and the courts the authority to trace, freeze, seize and ultimately confiscate criminally derived assets and to effectively prosecute those engaged in various criminal activities, including money laundering”.

“Addressing the issue of money laundering should be seen in the context of protecting domestic/national economies against criminal infiltration, but also to enhance the rule of law, intensify regional integration alongside mainstreaming regional peace and security”, he pointed out.

The participants come from the various security agencies in the country.