OCWAR-M – Organised Crime : West African Response to Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism

The primary objective of OCWAR-M is to contribute to the adoption and effective application of international standards to fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT).

To this end, the objective of OCWAR-M will be to achieve:

• A better understanding of the ML/FT risks by partner countries and an enhanced coordination of actions at national level;

• Greater compliance of the legislative regimes of partner countries with international standards and a more effective implementation of these regimes;

• Enhanced national, regional and international cooperation, in particular to facilitate the sharing of quality financial information and the strengthening of the capacities of prosecution authorities;

• Operational capacity building for GIABA, the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa, which is the ECOWAS specialised institution responsible for building the capacities of Member States in this field.

The team of French experts based in Dakar has been mobilised by Expertise France and combines expertise in project coordination, as well as in the financial and legal aspects of AML/CFT. It will work closely with GIABA and the various stakeholders directly concerned from partner countries (institutional stakeholders, operational stakeholders, professions subject to taxation, financial institutions, civil society).

The support will include very practical training for the various stakeholders, based on actual cases. It will also strengthen the legal framework for intervention (regulations, manuals, procedural guides…) and the tools required (computer equipment, information analysis software…) to increase the effectiveness of the prevention and prosecution of crime. Finally, cooperation will be sought with the private sector and in particular with banks and NGOs, which have a role to play in detecting and reporting illicit financial flows.

A 6-month start-up phase enabled to carry out an assessment of the 16 countries concerned, to define a detailed action plan for the implementation of activities adapted to each country and to ensure that any duplication of actions already carried out by national, regional and international stakeholders in AML/CFT was avoided.