Mr Edwin W. Harris Jnr., the Director General of GIABA, said although ML/TF were not new phenomena in West Africa as typologies had already identified a vast number of such cases in the region had been linked to corruption and other loopholes in the systems.

Therefore, spearheading the fight against corruption was the most prominent example of what CSOs could achieve in raising awareness, pressuring governments and international organisations for change and working with various sectors to implement innovative anti-corruption reforms.

Mr Harris Jnr. gave the advice at a three-day regional sensitisation workshop for CSOs from across the region on Anti- Money Laundering and Combating Financing Terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements.

He acknowledged the tremendous roles that CSOs played in national and global economies, but said unfortunately, most of them turned out as conduits for perpetuating ML/TF, which were increasingly linked to organised crimes, posing a growing threat to consumers, businesses and government alike.

He said the global nature of economic and financial crimes were such that no nation could fight them alone, making international cooperation and working closely with key allies a crucial part of the response.

Mr Harris Jnr. said to cope with organised crimes and their negative impacts, all nations must cooperate and act together to fight these threats and protect the economies of countries.

The workshop, therefore, seeks to enhance participants' understanding of GIABA's mandate, the negative impact of the twin scourges of ML/TF, thereby empowering CSOs to take ownership of the fight against these crimes by to advocate for strong AML/CFT regimes in the region.

Participants were from countries including Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, La Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal.

They would brainstorm on common challenges that affected the effective delivery of their work in the face of fighting ML/TF and this would go a long way to mitigate the unintended consequences of the FATF Recommendations and various national legislations.

Mr Harris Jnr. shared some insights on the establishment of the GIABA in December 2000 as an ECOWAS specialised institution and later became an associate member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and FATF Style Regional Body (FSRB) with the mandate to, facilitate and ensure Member States adopted adequate measures against ML/FT, in line with acceptable international practices and standards.

He said GIABA had provided a forum for dialogue and shared experiences among the member States, creating strong inter-regional cooperation, organised self and mutual evaluations of compliance by the members States using FATF methodology, to help them establish and implement robust and functioning AML/CFT regimes.

The GIABA's 2023-2027 Strategic Plan gave pride of place to all stakeholders in good governance and to institutions mediating between the State and public organisations that comprised all Civil Society groups at both country levels and internationally.

GIABA had since 2012 been developing core activities with CSOs to reinforce their pioneering roles in consolidating governance in their countries and internationally, and in the last 24 years continue to drive massive stakeholders' engagement to ensure that the proceeds of crimes were not laundered, blocking terrorism financing, curbing predicted offenses, and promoting economic growth that benefited everyone, he said.

The Executive Director stressed that whatever efforts were being made at the regional level would make little impact without strong national commitments and institutions and urged CSOs to take a deep commitment by taking ownership of the fight for the integrity of their economies.

Madam Diana Asonaba Dapaah, the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, commended GIABA for its impact over the years, saying the sub-region was greatly challenged and required sustained awareness creation, due to the ever-changing strategies and dynamics of the perpetrators of ML/TF.

She said the activities of organised crime often damaged organisations, leaving institutions with no credibility, and affected Foreign Direct Investment, therefore she advised CSOs to be watchful and wide awake to the subtle ways by which these perpetrators approached them, and to enhance their due diligence structures.

"They will not come with weapons to attack, so do not be complacent. They may come in forms such as huge investments or grants," and encouraged them to strictly comply with their work ethics.

She reminded CSOs of their key role in bringing the attention of governments and policy makers to ML/TF and difficulties that existed within their workspaces, and called on all sectors to strictly implement the law so they could see progress.

Madam Lucy Abebrese, the Head of Compliance at the Financial intelligence Centre (FIC), applauded GIABA for the commendable step to build the capacities of CSOs in the region, saying, the workshop would re-echo their strategic importance, so they would continue to actively participate and influence governments to apply focused and proportionate measures in a risk-based approach towards the subject matter.

It would also highlight the need for CSOs to utilise relevant platforms for the dissemination of information, publication and the sharing of reliable intelligence on AML/CFT, while encouraging them to work within an established network committed to the cause in West Africa.

She reiterated that CSOs had over the years had a positive impact on sustainable development of economies worldwide and were considered as the wheels that drove the economy through impactful advocacy on policies, governments and other interventions.

In several jurisdictions globally including Ghana, CSOs' effective dialogue and strong advocacy with government and Central banks had birthed specific legislations, financial products, and other initiatives, including representation on statutory board of Directors to facilitate CSOs' work, while strengthening the legal and institutional framework of countries.

A robust CSO is an essential ingredient for a thriving democracy whether it exist to provide advocacy, technical inputs, capacity building, service delivery, social function or representation," she said.

She said Ghana continued to implement adequate measures to fight ML/TF and had made efforts to institute measures, including the development of a Non-Profit Organisations (NPO) Policy and setting up of a Secretariat under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to closely monitor CSO's activities.

The secretariat, together with the FIC, had made modest strides, including maintaining a database of CSOs and NPOs, issuing of licenses, conducting fit and proper test for directors and key management personnel, conducting AML/CFT training for NPOs, undertaking both onsite and offsite examination/inspection to ensure compliance with AML/CTF requirements.

Currently, Ghana was preparing for the third round of Mutual Evaluation to be conducted by GIABA next year, and as part of the preparation towards the evaluation, the country had begun conducting its second National Risk Assessment (NRA) with 16 Working Groups looking at various sectors of the economy to assess existing threats and vulnerabilities that would create avenue for ML/TF.

She said the role of CSOs as conduits, whether knowingly or unwittingly, in the offence of AML/CTF, or its predicate offences could not be over emphasised and emphasised the need for governments to continue to give them the needed support, as they continued to demonstrate their neutrality and objectivity through effective advocacy to nation building.