The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr. Paul Usoro SAN was a speaker at the Intercontinental Action Group Against Money Laundering’s (GIABA) consultative forum on the “Effective Supervision of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) in the implementation of AML/CFT/CPF preventive measures” holding in Dakar, Senegal.
The meeting which brought together multi-disciplinary professionals on the subject was held with a view to providing information, exchanging and sharing experiences on the fight against money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation (ML/TF/PF). It is also aimed at enhancing participants’ understanding of DNFBP supervision as required by international standards.
Mr. Usoro as one of the speakers addressed the topic “The Legal Profession and the Implementation of AML/ CFT Requirements: Perspectives of GIABA Member States.”
In his presentation, the NBA President explained the role of legal practitioners in the fight against money laundering and financing terrorism with an insightful presentation on the NBA self-regulatory and disciplinary processes. Specifically, he walked his audience through the effective process of reporting legal practitioners by aggrieved individuals and law enforcement agencies in Nigeria and the function of NBA as the professional body of lawyers.
He addressed the role of Law Enforcement agencies in the prevention of money laundering and terrorism as well as the obligations placed on lawyers and the NBA.
He recommended continuous education of lawyers on the issues relating to money laundering and financing terrorism and proposed effective actions by law enforcement agencies.