Cash transactions aiding money laundering in West Africa – GIABA

  The Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), a specialised agency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has warned that the region’s heavy reliance on cash transactions is fueling money laundering, human trafficking, and other forms of transnational organised crimes. Speaking in Lagos at the Joint GIABA–EGDC Regional […]

 

The Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), a specialised agency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has warned that the region’s heavy reliance on cash transactions is fueling money laundering, human trafficking, and other forms of transnational organised crimes.
Speaking in Lagos at the Joint GIABA–EGDC Regional Forum on Women and Transnational Organised Crimes, the Acting Director of Policy and Research at GIABA, Dr. Jeffery Isima, said the largely informal nature of financial systems in West Africa makes it difficult for authorities to trace illicit financial flows.
The EGDC is the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC).
The forum which attracted participants from across member-states had in attendance representatives from the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) with Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim delivering the opening address.
It was organised due to the pervasive nature of human trafficking which GIABA describes as “evolving, and devastating.”
“It is a crime that undermines development, erodes human rights, fuels illicit economies, and threatens regional stability,” Isima, who represented the Director-General of GIABA, Mr. Edwin Harris said.
In a chat with newsmen after the opening ceremony, Isima expressed concerns that most transactions in the sub-region are still conducted in cash, even for large purchases that should ordinarily pass through formal banking channels.
This preference for cash, he explained, creates loopholes that criminals exploit to conceal the movement of illicit funds.
“When transactions are done in cash, traceability is evaded,” Dr. Isima said, adding, “If anything goes wrong, it becomes difficult to identify who paid who and for what purpose. That is why informality and cash-based transactions facilitate money laundering and other financial crimes.”
Isima noted that the challenge is particularly evident in human trafficking, where traffickers deliberately avoid bank transfers to escape detection.
He explained that recruiters often approach families in rural communities with promises of employment or a better life for their children, especially young girls, and demand cash payments under the guise of reducing family poverty.
“These payments are never made through the banking system because traffickers do not want a trace,” he said, adding that this makes it difficult to quantify the volume of money involved in trafficking operations across the region.
He stressed that women occupy a central position in the fight against human trafficking, as they make up a disproportionately large number of victims in West Africa, while also sometimes being used as facilitators by trafficking networks.
For this reason, he stated that GIABA is seeking the voluntary and full support of women in combating both the crime and the illicit proceeds generated from it.
To address the problem, Isima said GIABA is working with governments, including Nigeria’s, to promote financial inclusion and strengthen cashless payment systems. Expanding the use of electronic transactions, he said, would improve traceability and help law enforcement agencies detect and disrupt illicit financial flows.

He also called for increased public awareness, particularly among parents and guardians, warning them against deceptive narratives that encourage the sending of children to cities or abroad under false promises.

“Educating families and strengthening our financial systems are key to breaking the cycle of human trafficking and money laundering in West Africa,” he said.

Director/CEO of NFIU, Ms. Hafsat Abubakar Bakari said Human trafficking remains one of the most lucrative forms of transnational organised crimes globally.

Quoting the ILO and UNODC estimates, Bakari represented by Mrs. Biola Shotunde said forced labour and trafficking generate over 150 billion US dollars annually, placing it among the top revenue-generating criminal activities worldwide.

“Women and girls account for over 60 per cent of identified victims globally, with sexual exploitation and domestic servitude particularly prevalent in our region,” she said.