Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) across West Africa don renew their commitment to strengthen the fight against money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing after the 28th Meeting of the Forum of FIUs of GIABA member states wey happen for Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The meeting happen alongside the 45th GIABA Technical Commission and Plenary Meetings, where heads of FIUs from different countries gather to review progress, improve cooperation and strengthen regional efforts against financial crimes.
Outgoing President of the Forum, Idrissa Mahamar Haidara, highlight major achievements recorded within the last two years. According to am, member countries don improve collaboration, increase the visibility of their FIUs and make progress in addressing Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) challenges.
Haidara also commend countries wey successfully exit the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) monitoring process, describing am as a major achievement for the region.
For him goodwill message, GIABA Director-General, Edwin W. Harris Jr., praise the growing effectiveness of FIUs across West Africa and stress the importance of membership of the Egmont Group in boosting intelligence sharing and financial crime investigations.
He reveal say three FIUs from GIABA member states joined the Egmont Group between 2024 and 2025, while he encourage other countries to continue efforts to meet global standards.
One major outcome of the meeting na the election of Niger Republic as the new President of the Forum of FIUs.
While accepting the position, the new president promise to deepen cooperation among FIUs, improve information sharing and strengthen the region’s response to emerging financial crime threats.
At the end of the meeting, member states reaffirm their commitment to working together to protect the integrity of West Africa’s financial systems through stronger collaboration, intelligence sharing and sustained political support in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.
