CBN Makes Fresh Moves To Block Terrorism Financing

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has stepped up its monitoring of banks and other financial institutions,OFI, to ensure that they are not instruments in the hands of terrorism financiers.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by Sidi Wakama,  the bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department, CBN disclosed that  efforts have been intensified to ensure that the nation’s financial system is not been used to finance terrorism, saying more attention is now being focused on monitoring transactions, with the aim of exposing suspicious transactions in the financial sector, and applying sactions where necessary.

The development, is coming barely two months after the CBN directed commercial banks and OFIs to freeze the accounts and assets of some individuals and companies it designated as terrorism financiers.

The apex bank had said  then that it took the action against those individuals and organisations after they were designated by the Nigerian government and the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control as suspected terrorism enablers.

The apex bank said in its latest statement stated that it has now elevated its regulatory role to identifying and managing transactions that could be linked to the financing of terrorism as part of  its efforts to protecting the nation’s financial sector.

The bank stressed that its action is also part of the efforts to upports Nigeria’s ongoing domestic and international cooperation on counter-terrorism financing, counter-proliferation financing, financial integrity, and the protection of the financial system, in accordance with international best practices, adding that it will continue to apply a risk-based supervisory approach, including on-site and off-site engagement, for effective control and supervision ofthe nation’s financialsystem.

The bank said it ”has elevated terrorism financing supervision to a current supervisory priority, as part of its ongoing commitment to protecting the Nigerian financial system from abuse by illicit actors.

Adding that “The bank will continue to apply a risk-based supervisory approach, including on-site and off-site engagement, to support effective AML/CFT/CPF controls across the financial sector in line with existing legal and regulatory obligations.

“This supervisory focus also supports Nigeria’s ongoing domestic and international cooperation on counter-terrorism financing, counter-proliferation financing, financial integrity, and the protection of the financial system.”