The ECOWAS Resident Representative to Ghana, Ambassador Mohammed Lawan Gana, has called on West African states to deepen collaboration and adopt modern technologies to tackle illicit financial flows (IFFs) that continue to rob the region of critical resources.
He said West and Central Africa remain among the largest exporters of illicit capital on the continent, with ECOWAS states alone losing an estimated $8.8 billion annually to corruption and IFFs.
This, he noted, undermines economic transformation, inclusive growth, and sustainable development efforts across the region.
“Criminals do not respect borders. We must therefore strengthen collaboration across domestic agencies and international counterparts to share intelligence and coordinate enforcement actions, especially against safe haven countries and islands that operate secret coded accounts covering illicit funds,” he stated.
Ambassador Gana was speaking in Accra on Thursday, July 17, at the opening of a two-day seminar organised by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) for ECOWAS Resident Representatives from all member states.
The ECOWAS envoy emphasized the increasing complexity of financial crimes in an era of rapid globalization and digital transactions.
He said weak governance, corruption, and poor financial oversight are creating fertile grounds for criminal networks and terrorist groups to thrive.
“In an era of rapid globalization and digital financial transactions, the challenges caused by money laundering and terrorist financing have grown increasingly complex,” Ambassador Gana said, adding, “These illicit activities threaten the integrity of our financial systems, fund criminal enterprises and undermine national and international security.”
He stressed the need for political will, interagency cooperation, and technological modernization, including artificial intelligence and secure digital platforms for intelligence sharing.
The seminar, which runs from July 17–18, 2025, aims to strengthen GIABA’s mandate in combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and related financial crimes.
