In a bid to improve global trade in Africa and align with international regulatory and compliance standards, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in partnership with the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), is hosting a high-profile Compliance Forum in Dakar, Senegal, from September 4-6, 2024.
The Forum will focus on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) requirements for identifying Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) and their far-reaching implications for trade facilitation. The FATF, an intergovernmental organisation, sets international standards to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other threats to the integrity of the global financial system. One of its critical mandates is to identify and verify UBOs to ensure transparency and accountability in financial transactions.
Additionally, the Forum will explore the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in compliance processes, address strategies for African countries to make the necessary reforms to be removed from the FATF’s grey list and showcase the latest compliance technologies.
The Forum will provide a platform for experts from the compliance and monitoring industry to discuss these requirements and their practical impact on trade facilitation in Africa. It will attract delegates from Africa, the UK, Europe, Russia, and the UAE.
Compliance Director at Afreximbank, Idrissa Diop, said: “The Afreximbank Compliance Forum has been designed to improve intra-African trade and bolster Africa’s global trade with the rest of the world by aligning with international compliance standards to build credibility and create safe global trade.
“We believe better compliance generates better trade for Africa. Trade compliance is a responsibility for all businesses and is especially important for those importing and exporting. It ensures goods move swiftly across borders. The weight of today’s regulatory pressures makes trade compliance controls especially important for mitigating risks.”
Speaking on the tech implications, Founder and CEO of Elucidate, a Berlin-based financial crime risk quantification agency, Shane Riedel, said: “With the increasing digitalisation and the growing complexity of transactions, adherence to international and local regulations is more critical than ever to promote transparency, reduce corruption, and mitigate fraud. Accurate and timely data reporting enhances visibility and accountability in trade and payments operations.”
Commenting on the ACF, Gary Mthombeni from LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said: “We look forward to insightful discussions around improving compliance standards that will drive African businesses toward global success.”
The Forum is expected to attract diverse participants, including central bankers, commercial bankers, compliance officers, trade experts, financial institutions and technology providers from across Africa. By fostering a collaborative environment, the event aims to drive meaningful dialogue and develop actionable solutions to enhance compliance and trade facilitation in Africa.
