Government has announced a raft of strengthened policy and institutional measures aimed at closing pathways used to launder illicit funds and finance terrorism, as Ghana positions itself at the forefront of regional efforts to safeguard financial stability and national security.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, at the opening of the 2025 FATF/GIABA Joint Experts Meeting in Accra, the Deputy Minister for Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, said the country is taking decisive steps to disrupt criminal financial networks that continue to undermine economic development and threaten regional peace.
The three-day experts meeting brought together policymakers, security agencies, financial intelligence specialists and international partners to review compliance frameworks and strengthen collaboration among nations in West Africa and beyond.
According to the Deputy Minister, the rise in illicit financial flows, money laundering, and terror financing has become a major destabilizing factor in the sub-region. West Africa currently records some of the highest levels of terrorism-related deaths globally, with criminal networks exploiting weak border controls, informal cash channels, and emerging digital financial systems.
“These are not just financial crimes. They are moral injustices that rob our countries of development, deny our youth opportunity, and fuel cycles of insecurity,” the Deputy Minister stated. “We must break this doom-loop where illicit finance undermines growth, and instability worsens economic conditions. The cost of inaction is simply too high,” he added.
He emphasized that government has already taken significant steps to strengthen national resilience, including the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, the establishment and empowerment of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), and the roll-out of a new National AML/CFT/CPF Policy for 2025–2029. Ghana has also undertaken targeted risk assessments in emerging areas such as virtual assets, non-profit organizations, and environmental crime-linked transactions.
“We have established a unified national response mechanism bringing together the Ministry of Finance, Financial Intelligence Centre, Bank of Ghana, Economic and Organised Crime Office, Ghana Revenue Authority and the security services. This is ensuring intelligence-sharing and joint operations become the norm rather than the exception,” he noted.
He also called for greater African representation in global financial governance, arguing that the continent must participate more meaningfully in shaping standards that directly affect its economies.
“Africa loses over $80 billion annually to illicit financial flows. We cannot simply remain policy takers. We must be decision-makers in the global fight for financial integrity,” he said.
This he urged the experts gathered to use the meeting not just to review documents and repeat commitments, but to take forward tangible, collaborative action that strengthens borderless enforcement and technological surveillance.
“The money of the people must serve the people,” he concluded, calling for increased investment in data analytics, blockchain monitoring systems, inter-agency digital platforms, and capacity-building for young analysts in the region.
The Joint Experts Meeting continues in Accra with working sessions focused on enforcement collaboration, digital finance risks, and strategies for strengthening compliance in member States. Participants are expected to release an outcome communiqué outlining agreed priority actions for the next implementation cycle.
