Mar 28 2008 Helen O'Gorman
The Government of Togo has passed a bill to create a financial intelligence unit to collate and analyse information on suspicious transactions flowing through the West African country's financial systems. The Cellule National de Traitement des Informations Financiers will receive, analyse and process information on transactions and try to establish the source of funds or the reason behind any suspicious transfers. The Conseil des Ministres adopted the white paper this week, which gave the Centif autonomy, although it will function under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance.
Togo held its first free elections in October 2007 after almost 40 years of rule by General Gnassingbe Eyadema. The international community is finally welcoming Togo back into the financial sector after years of political unrest and human rights abuses diverted investment away from the country's economy. The creation of an FIU is one step on the path to acceptance by the Financial Action Task Force and towards the superficial economic respectability sought by the International Monetary Fund.
Togo is part of the BCEAO, the West African central bank. The country's main source of income is agriculture, but its location on the Atlantic Ocean attracts drug and cash smugglers from South America and Europe who use the country as a transit point and make it a focal point for European and US police forces.
A customs officer and a high-ranking civil servant from the treasury or the tax office will run the unit. An examining magistrate who specialises in financial affairs, a high-ranking police officer, a member of the central bank and two investigators will complete the team. The move has come two weeks after a BCEAO meeting in Lome to encourage the national anti-money laundering effort.
