Accra, Ghana (PANA) - The third regional workshop on money laundering and other financial crimes in the West African Sub-Region opened in Accra Monday with a call on the international community to co-operate and strengthen the capacity of developing economies to check money laundering.

The governor of the Bank of Ghana, Kwabena Duffuor, said if the war against money laundering must be won, financial and security authorities in Africa must be strengthened to keep abreast with changes in banking legislation, practices and the growing sophistication of methods used by launderers.

"The scourge of money laundering does not respect geographical boundaries, race, ideology or the level of economic development," he told the four-day workshop that has brought together more than 70 top and middle-level financial managers and security personnel from West Africa to brainstorm on ways to curb the crime.

Duffuor warned that if not well checked, money laundering and other economic crimes would whittle away the gains made through long years of economic restructuring in Africa.

Buttressing his assertion on the enormity of the "pandemic disease," the governor said money laundering is estimated at more than 500 billion dollars a year globally.

This, he said, is equivalent to 1,500 times the aggregate external trade of Sub-Saharan Africa.

"What is more, money laundering is 162 times the combined gross domestic product of Sub-Saharan African countries."

Duffuor said a sudden burst of "criminal money" flowing through a financial centre may create an illusion of success or growth and a short-term boost to national savings.

Duffuor said money laundering undermines the efficacy of monetary policy through arbitrary inflation and deflation of money supply and distortion of resource allocation in the economy.

"It is volatile: here today, gone tomorrow. It moves in response to changes in legislation on bank disclosure and financial regulation."

Kathryn Dee Robinson, US Ambassador in Ghana, said high level economic crime is an important issue which should be of global concern.

"It has become a global issue and it needs absolute cooperation and support from governments, security and financial institutions to fight this menace."

She said the workshop is timely against the background of the economic integration of West African countries as well as various reforms taking place in the region.

Robinson said the workshop would broaden the consciousness of participants of the nature and current trends of the problem.