Journalists schooled on Anti-Terrorism Financing and Money Laundering

The Financial Intelligence Center (FIC), has organized a training workshop for journalists on anti-money laundering and terrorism financing.

The workshop held in Accra from  July 5 to  6, 2022, was aimed equipping the understanding of journalists on the impact of money laundering and terrorism financing and its negative impact on any country especially Ghana.

The training forms part of FIC’s awareness creation programme for the general pubic and other relevant stakeholders to deepen knowledge and awareness on terrorism financing and  proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Seth Nana Amoako -Head of Compliance Unit- FIC, who facilitated the session on money laundering, terrorism and its financing, urged media practitioners to find interest in writing compelling stories about the effects of these criminal activities on the economy of Ghana and the world at large and the need to curtail it.

Manasseh Azure, an investigative journalist, in his turn, took participants  through several ways of unearthing stories on money laundering and terrorism and their financing.

He also urges journalists to adopt best strategies he outlined to unearth stories that ordinarily they may not have seen with their naked eyes.

He again urged the participants to be actively involved in the program and also employ the knowledge they would acquire at the end of the training.

As good journalists, it’s important to use our investigative skills in dealing with matters regarding money laundering and terrorism and its financing.

“Such training is very useful in the exercise of our work as journalists. I have learnt many things many I didn’t know. So encourage all of us to be interactive and learn from this very important Program,” Manasseh Azure said.

Money laundering is a financial transaction scheme that conceals the identity, source, and destination of illegally obtained funds.

Terrorist financing, according to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), also refers to the means and methods used by terrorist organizations to fund their operations.

The Financial Intelligence Center serves as the National Center for the receipt and analysis of suspicious transaction reports and other information relevant to the predicate crimes of money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing (ML/TF & P), as well as the dissemination of actionable intelligence to competent authorities.