NFIU Trains Gaming Operators on Anti-Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing Compliance
ROBUST FIGHT AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING: L-R Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit personnel; Robert Bagobiri, Layi Adewole and Peace Onwuka
Owing to the fact that gaming businesses are prone to be used as avenues by criminals attempting to turn ill-gotten wealth to clean money, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit recently held a mutual discussion with gaming operators to keep them abreast of the laws, writes Nseobong Okon-Ekong
It was meant to be a warm handshake across the table between personnel from the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and business owners in the gaming Eco-system, particularly drawn from members of the trade groups-Association of Nigeria Bookmakers (ANB), the umbrella body for Sports Betting companies, Nigeria Licensed Lottery Operators Forum, Casino and Gaming Machine Operators Association of Nigeria.
It was the second Training/Interactive Session on Anti-Money Laundering Compliance, having previously carried out a similar exercise conducted by the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundry (SCUML), an arm of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Therefore, the training last Wednesday at a hotel in the Ikeja Central Business District was a continuation of the effort to alert operators in the gaming Sector to protect themselves from being used for laundering money or terrorism financing.
Money laundering and terrorism financing are crimes of global dimension and concern. The crimes cut across borders and have no jurisdictional limitations. No country can single-handedly develop measures to tackle money laundering and terrorism financing effectively.
The Executive Secretary of the ANB, Bimpe Akingba, clearly expressed the objective of the training.
“We want government agencies to know that we have nothing to hide. We want to help our members stay compliant so that we can conduct our business free from encumbrances. We don’t want them to see us in a bad light, especially now that there is a lot of focus on this sector,” stated Akingba.
The NFIU personnel, which included Biola Shodeinde, Peace Onuka, Robert Bagobiri and Lai Adewole, made it a very participatory meeting, thereby getting the trainees to understand the difference between money laundering and terrorism financing. While money laundering describes an attempt to transform ill-gotten money into legitimate funds, terrorism financing can deploy clean and unclean funds. Money Laundering is the process by which criminals attempt to hide or disguise the origin and ownership of their ill-gotten wealth from: drugs trafficking, bribery, tax evasion, corruption, illegal oil bunkering and embezzlement. In effect, money laundering is about turning dirty money into clean money.
Yomi Oketope, President, Casino and Gaming Machine Operators Association of Nigeria and Bimpe Akingba (r), Executive Secretary, Association of Nigerian Bookmakers
It was impressed on business owners in the gaming sector why they regularly need to file Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) and Suspicious Transaction Report (STR). The importance of filing an STR immediately was emphasised. The trainers re-echoed the preeminence of confidentiality guiding the working relationship between NFIU and the operators while stating the principle leading to the establishment of Government Office Anti-Money Laundering, popularly known as GoAML, which automatically includes Nigeria among a network of 157 countries that have come together to fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.
China Onwuka, president of the Nigeria Licensed Lottery Operators Forum, commended the NFIU, saying, “Your office has a great impact on how Nigeria is seen globally. Nigeria has not been removed from the list of countries susceptible to money laundering.”
The trainees also learnt why money laundering and terrorism financing is a second-degree offence, an intentional, premeditated crime, stressing that it is a global problem that adversely affects parts of the economy. At the end of the training, attendees understood how to identify the three major stages of money laundering and terrorist financing: placement, layering and integration.
In the placement stage, ill-gotten funds are brought into the gaming sector. Sometimes smaller deposits below threshold levels are made to evade reporting. It may also be in the form of buying casino chips, later cashing them in, and treating the proceeds as winning. Regarding layering, bets are placed using other individuals and businesses to transact on their behalf. At the stage of integration, winnings are cashed out as clean money. The rest of the funds are also cashed out as clean money.
Some of the indicators brought to light at the forum include but were not limited to fraud, particularly (Yahoo Yahoo) otherwise known as internet scam, participating in organised crime, kidnapping (offenders kidnap their friends and then ask the family to pay ransom into a betting wallet), corruption through the political elite, trafficking in stolen goods and sexual exploitation.
Having thoroughly discussed the issues, some of the actions that the NFIU recommended for implementation included; having an AML compliance officer in every operating business, incidentally when the section of the law that specifies punishment, including jail terms to defaulting companies/compliance officers, many at the training declined the responsibility, developing an AML policy programme, keeping records of transactions and insistence on betting by the rules. An important observation was made by the NFIU that there is an upsurge in betting activities each time there is a national election.
Carrying out such training as the NFIU had with operators in the gaming industry, designated as non-financial businesses and professions, helps them understand why it is necessary to file regular reports.
The relevant sections of the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022 (MLPPA) were explained to participants, particularly Sections 7, 11, 18, 19 and 84. For instance, the operators were alarmed to learn that section 7 stipulates that they must pay N1 million every day a breach of that particular law section is committed. Yomi Oketope, the president of the Casino and Gaming Operators Association of Nigeria, said after the training, he doubted the possibility of any of his members defaulting against the laws.
