The role of financial institutions in combatting terrorist financing

A regulatory perspective from Ghana

by Maureen Emefa Bansah

The recent de-listing of Ghana from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list is a significant milestone in the country's efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Ghana's placement on the grey list in October 2018 was mainly due to deficiencies in its Anti-Money Laundering/Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework. In response to being placed on the list, Ghana embarked on significant reforms to strengthen its regulatory and enforcement mechanisms against financial crimes. Despite progress, the battle against economic crimes, particularly terrorist financing, remains ongoing due to the prevalence of terrorist activities in the West African sub-region. In fact, the country's proximity to Nigeria and other troubled zones, such as Mali to the northwest and Niger and Chad to the northeast, has raised concerns of a possible "spillover" or infiltration of Boko Haram into Ghana.¹