CBN Goes Tough On Money Laundering

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has flagged off its Know Your Customer (KYC) Initiative which is intended to allow bank Customers update their account details with them particularly intensify the fight against money laundering activities and terrorism financing in the country.

The CBN, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well as the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) are partnering in this exercise which officially began Wednesday and would last till December 31st, after which any customer that fails to comply will be barred from operating his or her account.

CBN Deputy Governor, on Financial System Stability, Kingsley Moghalu said that the initiative was in line with the apex bank’s 2009 Anti-Money/Combating of Financing Terrorism Regulation and the 2004 money laundering (Prohibition) Act which require financial institution to among things identify and verify the identities of their customers and render statutory returns to various regulatory bodies such as the CBN and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (MFIU).

Moghalu while briefing newsmen said “at the end of this period, all customers would be expected to have updated their accounts failing, which they would be barred from operating their accounts until they update the required information”.

He revealed that Nigeria was placed under a list of countries targeted for close monitoring by financial action task force (FATF) mainly due to poor ratings on FAFF recommendations, especially on customer due diligence (CDD) during the last mutual evaluation exercise conducted by the inter-governmental group against money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism in West Africa in 2007 and subsequent reviews.

Moghalu said that the fight against money laundering activities and terrorism financing is a global one adding that Nigeria cannot be exempted and that the apex bank is aware of the CDD which involves KYC compliance remains veritable in the fight against the act.

He maintained that the decision was in the best interest of the customers arguing that it was only the financial institutions know their customers well through appropriate due diligence measures that they can assert with certainty their characters and type of business they do.