New anti-money laundering law awaits President’s assent

President, Nana Akufo-Addo will soon assent into law the Anti-money Laundering Bill, 2020 following its passage last week Thursday by Parliament.

The law is expected to curb illicit financial inflows, deal with various financial malfeasance as well as enabling Ghana to comply with international best practices once it is fully operational next year.

In effect, people with unexplained wealth, be it in a form of cash, properties among others shall be able to explain the source of their wealth, else they will be charged with money laundering.

An effective money laundering regime is also expected to boost business activities. Indeed, various financial institutions attach great importance to reputation because of brand reputation

“As the market volumes are enormous, brand values are also very high. So they have a lot to lose in a potential disaster. Implementing money laundering regulations can increase brand awareness to enable consumers see the business as safe”.

Companies that have been investigated or fined may not appear trustworthy by customers”, report indicates.

It will be recalled that Ghana and other African countries were blacklisted by the European Union (EU) over money-laundering, putting the country’s financial transactions under greater scrutiny.

Recently, the African Union Commission through the Department of Economic Affairs and various partners including EU), the German Federal Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ) and GIZ launched a Multi-Donor Action to add to the existing mechanisms to stem the illicit outflows.

This new mechanism was launched during the African Union’s Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration.