The investigation into Ceceilia Dapaah's allegedly stolen money should pique the interest of regulators in the financial sector, according to Richard Kumadoe.
In the continuing investigation into the theft of one million dollars from the home of a minister of state in Ghana, regulators from the financial industry ought to have an interest in the source of the monies.
Money laundering risks and financial crime red flags would be overlooked in a country where money laundering laws are not strictly applied. This would be a panacea for all forms of financial inappropriateness, manipulation, and contraventions of stipulated laws. In a country where money laundering laws are strictly applied, infractions of the key components of the law could be compromised by powerful people in political office.
If the particular case involving the theft of one million dollars from the house of a minister of state is not appropriately punished, it will set a poor example, generate socioeconomic concerns from observers, which invariably will raise the temperature for fraud-risk, and crime related activities in the country, and it will create a bad precedent.
We envisioned a society in which there was no need for cash transactions, and a significant amount of public funds has been invested in this area to make sure that adequate public education is provided and that individuals are encouraged to deposit their money in banks.
However, high-level personalities and high-end politicians do the opposite, which is to keep large sums of money in their private homes, for fear of not being able to answer the question of "source of funds" and "nature of business" as a standard requirement for key money laundering preventive measure, and banking best practises.
The current situation is an excellent case study that can be used to test the preventative and investigative procedures and capabilities of financial sector regulators, as well as investigation institutions. These institutions include the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), the Economic and Organised Crime Organisation (EOCO), the Financial Crime department of the Ghana Police, the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), and most likely the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
The identification of early warning signals of money laundering and the lifestyles of significant political appointees is essential to the upkeep of law enforcement operations within the realm of financial crime and money laundering.
Senior level individuals will need to behave responsibly if Ghana is to attain the required financial sector norms (guidelines) placed on nations by the international community. If they do not, awful money laundering sanctions will be implemented, which would have damaging effects on every Ghanaian.
To tell you the truth, we are capable of so much more.
Richard Kumadoe is an expert in the prevention of fraud and works as a security consultant.
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