By Julius Konton
The Officer-in-Charge of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), Mohammed Nasser, has reaffirmed the country unwavering commitment to the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
Nasser gave the commitment at the official opening the 44th Plenary Meeting of the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).
On behalf of the government, and President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Mr. Nasser welcomed delegates from the 16 countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), development partners, GIABA Secretariat officials, and representatives from international institutions.
At the gathering, plenary provided a critical platform for strengthening coordination, sharing intelligence, and improving regional compliance with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards.
The action continues to shape global Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) frameworks.
GIABA, established in 2000, as a specialized ECOWAS institution, has played a strategic role in enhancing AML/CFT compliance in West Africa.
Its work has contributed to various reforms across member states, including Liberia recent efforts to modernize financial supervision, improve cross-border cooperation, and strengthen early warning systems against illicit financial flows.
On this, Nasser said, the institution “stands as a pillar of coordination and knowledge-sharing,” across the sub-region and remains instrumental in supporting member states to meet global AML/CFT benchmarks.
He highlighted Liberia’s progress, noting the country dedication to the FATF framework, and GIABA mutual evaluation process.
The plenary, Nasser said, creates another timely opportunity for member countries to enhance information-sharing among national and regional institutions; improves risk assessment methodologies to better detect emerging threats; strengthens supervisory mechanisms across the banking and non-banking sectors and evaluate national compliance with FATF’s 40 recommendations.
“These are essential steps toward reinforcing institutional effectiveness, and protecting our economies from illicit flows that undermine governance and development,” he said.
Nasser praised the collective expertise and unwavering commitment shown by GIABA member states and partners.