We’re confident of passing anti-money laundering framework — Twum Boafo
The Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Intelligence Centre, Kwadwo Twum Boafo, has said he is confident Ghana will successfully pass the ongoing mutual evaluation exercise being undertaken by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), a specialised institution of ECOWAS.
He said Ghana had, over the years, built a robust regime for counter terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic following an on-site visit by the GIABA delegation, Mr Twum Boafo said that the government had provided the necessary support to all relevant agencies to meet international standards.
“As part of the third round of the mutual evaluation exercise, a delegation from GIABA was in the country from January 26 to February 6, 2026 to undertake an on-site assessment of our regime. I must say that the exercise went quite smoothly, with active participation from all institutions.
“The process began before I arrived, and since my arrival, we have continued to engage with the assessors and provided them with all the required information and data. Based on what I know and the system we have built, I believe Ghana will pass. I’m very confident of that,” he added.
Background
From January 26 to February 6, 2026, Ghana hosted the on-site visit for its Third Round Mutual Evaluation exercise, marking a major milestone in assessing the country’s compliance with international standards on anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and counter-proliferation financing.
The evaluation was conducted under the GIABA framework in accordance with the benchmarks set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
A team of international assessors and officials from the GIABA Secretariat engaged extensively with stakeholders from Ghana’s public and private sectors.
The purpose was to validate the country’s technical compliance with the FATF’s 40 Recommendations and to assess the overall effectiveness of the AML/CFT/CPF framework.
The opening session brought together high-level government and institutional leaders, including the Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem; the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama; the National Security Coordinator, Commissioner of Police Osman Abdul Razak; the Director-General of GIABA, Edwin W. Harris Jr; and representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The assessors held meetings with a broad range of competent authorities, supervisory and self-regulatory bodies, as well as representatives from financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs), non-profit organisations and virtual asset service providers.
The Third Round Mutual Evaluation placed strong emphasis on effectiveness.
Assessors examined Ghana’s understanding of money laundering and terrorist financing risks, risk-based supervision, the use of financial intelligence in investigations and prosecutions, targeted financial sanctions, transparency of beneficial ownership information, asset recovery outcomes and mechanisms for inter-agency and international cooperation.
Adoption
The final report is expected to be considered for adoption at the GIABA plenary scheduled for November 2026.
The event was later attended at the end of the two-week period by the Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on CPF, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson; the Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Matilda Asante; the Deputy National Security Coordinator, Elizabeth Yankah; the FIC CEO and representatives of GIABA.
