Target politicians who become wealthy overnight – IEA boss to BoG on unexplained wealth

Dr. John Kwakye, Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), has called for a comprehensive approach to tackling sudden unexplained wealth, advocating for scrutiny of politicians who amass significant wealth overnight.

According to him, it is important to target high-profile individuals, together with smaller offenders to ensure fairness in anti-money laundering efforts.

“How about the politicians who become wealthy overnight? You have to target them as well and not only the small flies,” he remarked in a tweet in response to the Bank of Ghana's recent warning that sudden unexplained wealth might indicate money laundering.

Ghana’s central bank has provided insights into how sudden unexplained wealth, which could be a result of money laundering, can land an individual in jail after prosecution.

It explained that persons with sudden unexplained wealth must be ready to provide satisfactory explanations of the source of their wealth to relevant authorities.

In its latest Financial Literacy document, the Bank of Ghana urged the public to remain circumspect when receiving funds from third parties through their bank accounts.

“Sudden unexplained wealth could be as a result of money laundering and you could be prosecuted. Be sure to be in a position to satisfactorily explain your source of wealth.

“Don’t allow a third party to receive and or transfer funds through your bank account. You could be aiding money laundering or terrorist financing which is a crime punishable by law,” the bank said.

The document further detailed what money laundering is, by stating that the act is “the process whereby money obtained from unlawful activities such as drug trafficking and corruption is legitimized through complex transactions and processes called ‘cleaning’ to hide its illegal source.”

https://t.co/g0bqxaBDV3 . How about the politicians who become wealthy overmight? You have to target them as well and not only the small flies.

— J. K. Kwakye (@JohnKwabenaKwa1) April 8, 2024