The Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Matilda Asante-Asiedu, has backed a new structure for the Committee for Co-operation between Law Enforcement Agencies and the Banking Community (COCLAB) to strengthen the fight against financial crime.

The revised structure will have two working groups focused on public sensitisation, information sharing and investigations, supported by a steering committee made up of heads of member institutions to provide strategic direction.

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Speaking at the 2026 COCLAB Technical Committee workshop in the Eastern Region on Thursday, September 10, Asante-Asiedu said the new structure would improve implementation, accountability and cooperation among member institutions.

“These working groups will provide the technical foundation needed to drive implementation, strengthen accountability, and deepen collaboration amongst member institutions,” she said.

She said the success of COCLAB should not be measured by the number of meetings held or reports produced, but by its impact on financial crime, including better intelligence sharing, successful investigations and prosecutions, asset recovery and improved regulatory compliance.

“Success will not and should not be counted in the number of committee meetings we hold or technical reports that we produce. It should be measured by the outcomes of stronger intelligence sharing, successful investigations that lead to successful prosecutions, asset recovery, improved regulatory compliance, greater customer awareness, and a measurable reduction in financial crimes,” she said.

Asante-Asiedu also linked the restructuring to the growing threat of financial crime, particularly as digital transactions continue to increase.

She noted that fraud incidents across the financial ecosystem rose from 16,733 in 2024 to 24,778 in 2025, representing a 48% increase, while digital fraud incidents increased by 98% between 2022 and 2025.

She further cautioned that Ghana must strengthen its systems to avoid being placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, noting that the outcome of the country’s third-round mutual evaluation could have serious financial implications.

“We definitely don’t want to go back there to being greylisted,” she said.

Asante-Asiedu said the Bank of Ghana remained committed to supporting the new COCLAB structure and ensuring that the committee becomes more effective in preventing, detecting and responding to financial crime.

“We should be so efficient that when the fraudster begins to think through their next move, they’ll also think, ‘Gosh, what if these people arrest me?’ So that is a deterrent to them,” she said.

ANAS/MA

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