Kenya's Parliament finally passed the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Bill in December. But while the passing of the bill is viewed as a highlight of the Tenth Parliament, many fear it may just be a gimmick by the government to appease international partners.
George Kegoro, the executive director of International Commission of Jurists - Kenya Chapter, says while the legislation is good, he doubts there is political will to completely stamp out money laundering in Kenya.
"The existence of the legislation is not sufficient to deter the vice neither are the stiff penalties that are recommended in the bill," he says. "There is need for genuine support from the government to enact this law. We need a good set of people to be put in place to interpret the legislation."
Kegoro, whose organisation undertakes advocacy and policy work aimed at strengthening the role of lawyers and judges in protecting human rights and the rule of law, argues that while the bill was government-sponsored, Kenya’s track-record on corruption is poor and he doubts the genuineness of the political class.
It is the fourth attempt since 2004 to pass a bill to prevent the concealment of large profits from drug trafficking and other organised crime, and even this time around it faced resistance from members of parliament who believed the bill was a sly back-door re-introduction of an Anti-Terrorism Bill which had been quashed.
When the bill was tabled in November, an assistant minister in defiance of his own government, strongly opposed the tenets of the Bill. The assistant minister for public service, Aden Sugow, opposed the Bill saying it was an attack on the Muslim community. He argued implementing the Bill would be bowing to the interests of external interests and said that Kenya currently has adequate laws in place to deter money laundering.
While supporting the bill, defence minister Yusuf Hajji warned of a general feeling among the Muslim community that the legislation was targeting them. The Bill went forward after assurances from Prime Minister Raila Odinga that the government had no such intentions.
Once signed by the president, the law will establish a Financial Reporting Centre to assist in the identification of the proceeds of crime. An Asset Recovery Agency will be charged with tracing and recovering ill-gotten assets.
According to Job Ogonda executive director of international corruption watchdogs Transparency International, this would mean millions of dollars stashed in off-shore accounts swindled from Kenya could be recovered.
But Ogonda doubts the passage of new legislation will improve Kenya’s standing as a corrupt state internationally.
"At the moment it is embarrassing to be a Kenyan. Nigeria is improving with regards to corruption because they have shown tangible commitment of doing something about graft. However, the same cannot be said for Kenya," he says.
"We have previously had good pieces of legislation which would have helped fight graft, however, nothing has been done. How many ministers or former ministers have ever gone to prison because of corruption?" Ogonda wonders.
Ogonda is referring to anti-corruption legislation such as the Public Procurement and the Public Officers Ethics Act which require all public office holders to declare their wealth and origin of the same: this older legislation has had no noticeable effect.
Kenya’s record internationally as a corrupt state has for many years been bad and in the bribery and corruption index released by Transparency International, the country has kept the company of states such as Nigeria, Russia and Zimbabwe. Currently, Kenya is position 147 out of 180 on the global index of corruption.
Indeed the passing of the anti-money laundering bill comes in the wake of the release of a U.S. State Department report saying 93 million dollars of earnings from drug trafficking are laundered in the country’s financial system annually.
Another equally damning report by a UK firm, Kroll Associates, hired by the Kenyan government to track wealth acquired corruptly, revealed an estimated $1.7 billion is currently stashed in off-shore accounts. While the results of this 2004 report have remained confidential, the document was leaked: no action has been taken against any of the prominent figures named in its 110 pages.
But all the right noises were made when the bill was moved in Parliament by deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, who said that in view of the magnitude of the problem to the economy, the debate should focus on the quality of the legislation to ensure it was stringent enough.
Seconding the bill, Raila said, "The country risks becoming a pariah state unless the legislation is passed. We have suffered from the effects of money laundering especially in the property sector whose value has been skyrocketing due to the money being brought from the acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia".
A boom in property prices in Nairobi is preventing a majority of Kenyans from buying real estate, and in some cases even pricing locals out of the rental market. Media reports are linking the boom with profits from Somali pirates who seized numerous vessels during 2009, extracting handsome fees from their owners before releasing ships and crew members. In certain Nairobi neighbourhoods, Somalis are willing and able to pay rent up front for periods of even up to two years.
Ogonda states that for many years, Kenya has been a hub of money laundering with illegally acquired cash from Europe, South Africa, South America, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania finding its way into local financial markets.
"Due to our porous borders and poor implementation of legislation, people have simply walked in with huge amounts of cash, hired a lawyer to front for them who in turn invest the cash, especially in property," Ogonda says.
He says despite moves to assure the independence of the new watchdog agencies' leadership, and fresh monitoring requirements for the banking system, the version of the bill which is now awaiting presidential assent does not demand greater accountability from lawyers whose lawyer-client privileges remain intact.
Kegoro notes that the prescribed penalties are fairly high - jail terms of two to five years, with fines of up to $65,000 for individuals, and corporate penalties set as high as $330,000 or the value of the property. But, he argues, it is not the severity of the penalty that will make people fear it. It is the certainty of being caught, hence the need for genuine political will to implement the law.
Ogonda is in agreement. "Application of the bill is what will be the determining factor. The structure of governance has to support the law and if it remains the same the legislation can exist and nothing will change."
By Susan Anyangu-Amu
Source: IPS
Showing posts with label Tanzania. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tanzania. Show all posts
on Wednesday, June 6, 2012
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on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
By Catherine Ndioo
In an era when geographical boundaries hardly matter in financial transactions, the use of money transfer services is becoming an everyday transaction.
For a commission, one can transfer funds overseas, send money upcountry, or pay for goods bought online.
"Money transfer is now a service that is part of many people’s lives, especially those who don’t have bank accounts," said Ms Nikki Spottiswood, MoneyGram International Regional Director.
Consequently, it is important to ensure that the money is safe till the transfer process is complete for users to gain confidence in the service.
A recent IMF report ranked Kenya as the second biggest recipient of foreign remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria due the growth of investment opportunities that have attracted the attention of the Diaspora.
World Bank statistics show that some Sh85 billion was wired into the country last year up from Sh67 billion the previous year.
Users should be sure about the reliability of the service provider when sending cash and be wary of offers that sound that sound too good.
Transaction Risks
Many fraudsters use transfer services for money laundering and other illegal activities like fraud, and one would not want to be caught in the web.
"To prevent unlawful transactions, money transfer providers usually seek clearance from the Central Bank when one is transferring huge amounts in a transaction," said Spottiswood.
When using the service, it is important to know the person who will receive money incase there is an error in the transaction.
Further, it is not advisable to use international money transfer services to pay for lotteries and online gambling because the money could end up in fraudsters pockets.
One should keep close tabs on transaction costs. These charges range from 0.5 per cent to 35 per cent of the amount being transferred.
For example, Western Union charges Sh1,150 to transfer less than Sh7,750 and Sh1,700 for amounts below Sh15,000. To send money to Uganda, Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo the charges are between Sh500 and Sh700.
PostaPay charges are determined by the amount and country the money is destined to. Sending Sh10,000 from Nairobi to the UK one pays a commission of Sh800, while Sh100,000 would attract a commission of Sh3,680.
Safaricom’s M-Pesa charges range between Sh30 and Sh400 for sending and receiving cash upto a maximum of Sh35,000.
MoneyGram charges a minimum of Sh480.
In all transactions, it is cheaper to transfer large amounts for both local and international transfers, due to a minimum fee charged for every transfer.
Commercial banks are major players in the electronic funds transfer (EFT) deals, servicing large users and to a smaller extent, low-income users.
EFT works is suitable for large transactions. The money is usually transferred directly into a bank account, making the money to be available to recipients at moments it has been wired.
Transaction Risks
To avoid penalties, always ensure that your account has sufficient funds instructing your bank to wire money and always keep an eye on commissions, which are usually a percentage of the money remitted.
It is also important to know the exchange rate used for international transfers. One should also know the minimum transaction amount and the different pay points so that the recipient can collect the money as quickly as possible.
To make it convenient for customers to send and receive cash, money transfer firms have penetrated remote places by signing in agents to their networks.
Western Union has local agents like Post Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, Diamond Trust Bank among others, and has 300,000 agents worldwide.
Safaricom has signed up hundreds of agents for the M-Pesa service. The mobile firm has also partnered with financial institutions like Equity Bank, Post Bank and Housing Finance.
Moneygram services are accessible from Cooperative Bank, Stanbic, Prime Bank, I&M Bank and Imperial Bank branches.
PostaPay, available both for people sending money within Kenya as well as internationally, operates a network of 500 pay points.
Source: The Standard
In an era when geographical boundaries hardly matter in financial transactions, the use of money transfer services is becoming an everyday transaction.
For a commission, one can transfer funds overseas, send money upcountry, or pay for goods bought online.
"Money transfer is now a service that is part of many people’s lives, especially those who don’t have bank accounts," said Ms Nikki Spottiswood, MoneyGram International Regional Director.
Consequently, it is important to ensure that the money is safe till the transfer process is complete for users to gain confidence in the service.
A recent IMF report ranked Kenya as the second biggest recipient of foreign remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria due the growth of investment opportunities that have attracted the attention of the Diaspora.
World Bank statistics show that some Sh85 billion was wired into the country last year up from Sh67 billion the previous year.
Users should be sure about the reliability of the service provider when sending cash and be wary of offers that sound that sound too good.
Transaction Risks
Many fraudsters use transfer services for money laundering and other illegal activities like fraud, and one would not want to be caught in the web.
"To prevent unlawful transactions, money transfer providers usually seek clearance from the Central Bank when one is transferring huge amounts in a transaction," said Spottiswood.
When using the service, it is important to know the person who will receive money incase there is an error in the transaction.
Further, it is not advisable to use international money transfer services to pay for lotteries and online gambling because the money could end up in fraudsters pockets.
One should keep close tabs on transaction costs. These charges range from 0.5 per cent to 35 per cent of the amount being transferred.
For example, Western Union charges Sh1,150 to transfer less than Sh7,750 and Sh1,700 for amounts below Sh15,000. To send money to Uganda, Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo the charges are between Sh500 and Sh700.
PostaPay charges are determined by the amount and country the money is destined to. Sending Sh10,000 from Nairobi to the UK one pays a commission of Sh800, while Sh100,000 would attract a commission of Sh3,680.
Safaricom’s M-Pesa charges range between Sh30 and Sh400 for sending and receiving cash upto a maximum of Sh35,000.
MoneyGram charges a minimum of Sh480.
In all transactions, it is cheaper to transfer large amounts for both local and international transfers, due to a minimum fee charged for every transfer.
Commercial banks are major players in the electronic funds transfer (EFT) deals, servicing large users and to a smaller extent, low-income users.
EFT works is suitable for large transactions. The money is usually transferred directly into a bank account, making the money to be available to recipients at moments it has been wired.
Transaction Risks
To avoid penalties, always ensure that your account has sufficient funds instructing your bank to wire money and always keep an eye on commissions, which are usually a percentage of the money remitted.
It is also important to know the exchange rate used for international transfers. One should also know the minimum transaction amount and the different pay points so that the recipient can collect the money as quickly as possible.
To make it convenient for customers to send and receive cash, money transfer firms have penetrated remote places by signing in agents to their networks.
Western Union has local agents like Post Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, Diamond Trust Bank among others, and has 300,000 agents worldwide.
Safaricom has signed up hundreds of agents for the M-Pesa service. The mobile firm has also partnered with financial institutions like Equity Bank, Post Bank and Housing Finance.
Moneygram services are accessible from Cooperative Bank, Stanbic, Prime Bank, I&M Bank and Imperial Bank branches.
PostaPay, available both for people sending money within Kenya as well as internationally, operates a network of 500 pay points.
Source: The Standard
on Friday, May 11, 2012
International Islamic terror is funded by a huge financial system. It has penetrated deep into the Indian system as well. The parallel economy has a lot to contribute to it.
There is nexus between smuggling, drug rackets, arms peddlers and hawala. Some part is played by black money also. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-Governmental organization, to study terror finance has found that the terror masters use all financial and banking routes to support their activities. In other words, they use the international or national banking and financial systems. The FATF has been trying to cut the terror funding. So far, India is not a member of this organization.
Significantly, the terror financial mechanism extends to almost all activities. The terror outfits also raise funds from the public. Even black money is supposed to have a role in its sustenance. Besides, the role of charity and human rights organizations need to be under the scanner. It has been found that terrorists spend more on preparations so that the cost of the actual operations could be reduced, according to the FATF 2008 report.
The terror outfits have been investing in the Mumbai stock exchange and are stated to be active players in real estate. Their linkage with various building and construction companies needs to be probed. Does the real estate boom have a terror link?
International money laundering too has close links with terror and crime. It is estimated that 50 per cent of the US $950 billion money laundered is done by terror-related organizations. According to the UN Monitoring Committee estimates, smuggling funds 29 per cent, drugs 26 per cent, organized crime 24 per cent and financial frauds 21 per cent.
Importantly, the economics of terror extends to many activities in India . Sadly, however the Indian investigative agencies have done little either to study or penetrate these outfits. After 9/11 the US broke the funding links. The UK also has done it. But this is nowhere on the radar of our anti-terror mechanism.
Especially against the background that the Indian agencies are aware of the different modules that fund terror. The Mumbai police investigations found that the founder of the Indian Mujahideen Riyaz Bhatkal, had set-up a recruiting agency for the Gulf countries. He had recruited over 500 youth. This had earned him a huge sum both from the recruits and their employers. The agencies have not investigated whether the employers have links with terror outfits.
Not only that. The Madhya Pradesh Police found that SIMI's chief coordinator Safdar Nagori had held a youth camp at Indore in 2007. He had set a target of raising Rs one crore through donations and charity by mobilizing the youth.
In addition, major funding comes through fake currencies purportedly printed in neighbouring countries and circulated through them. In April last, one Naushad Alam Khan was held in Dhaka with Rs 50 lakh fake Indian currency notes. Khan, it was found, was a close aide of the Harket-ul-Jihadi's (HUJI) Bangladesh Chief Abdul Hanan. Many such fake currencies have been found in Nepal as well.
An ex-Punjab terrorist Kashmir Singh too was arrested in April with 50 kg heroin worth several crores in the international market. He is believed to be working for terror organizations. In the recent Mumbai attack, the terrorists used credit cards apart from other sources of funding.
The Taliban and Al Qaeda have always been raising funds through drug and arms peddling. It is said that it controls the drug triangle and the Myanmar-India-Afghanistan-Europe route.
Their operations reportedly have close links with different insurgent groups in Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, ULFA and other insurgent groups in Assam and Tripura. They operate with close cooperation from their shadow organizations in Nepal and Bangladesh .
Additionally, the Naxalites get arms from myriad sources including China , Pakistan and Afghanistan . Not much study has been done of the finances of the Naxalites. Mere extortions and the poor-exploited people do not fund the billions of rupees spent by the Naxalites in their operations.
The US Commission for Studying the Funding Pattern of Terrorists has come out with a 155-page report. According to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation terrorists in the US have used almost all the available financial services at one time or the other. The US could confiscate properties worth US $850,000 having links to the Al Qaeda and related terror organizations.
The Commission revealed another pattern: terror outfits are acquiring properties and possibly are even active players in the real estate business. The US Administration is looking into the sub-prime crisis from this angle as well. It is also trying to find out how the penetration of these organizations had affected its economy.
Various estimates suggest that terror outfits spent about US $750,000 on eight operations. The US security agencies estimated, as per a Washington Times report on Nov 18 2001, that the 9/11 World Trade Centre attacks cost the terror outfits US $500,000. The UK home office said that the 7/7/2005 London transport system attacks cost the terrorists British pound 8,000. In 2004, the UN Monitoring Team estimated that the Madrid train blast cost US $10,000; the Istanbul truck blasts US $40,000; Jakarta Marriott Hotel blast US $30,000; Bali explosions US $50,000; and the attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania US $50,000.
Clearly, India needs to do a study on the terror financial resources and swoop down on it. It needs a detailed and specific study to pinpoint the lacunae in the legal and financial system so that such funding could be throttled.
Shivaji Sarkar, -INFA
Source: Central Cronicle
There is nexus between smuggling, drug rackets, arms peddlers and hawala. Some part is played by black money also. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-Governmental organization, to study terror finance has found that the terror masters use all financial and banking routes to support their activities. In other words, they use the international or national banking and financial systems. The FATF has been trying to cut the terror funding. So far, India is not a member of this organization.
Significantly, the terror financial mechanism extends to almost all activities. The terror outfits also raise funds from the public. Even black money is supposed to have a role in its sustenance. Besides, the role of charity and human rights organizations need to be under the scanner. It has been found that terrorists spend more on preparations so that the cost of the actual operations could be reduced, according to the FATF 2008 report.
The terror outfits have been investing in the Mumbai stock exchange and are stated to be active players in real estate. Their linkage with various building and construction companies needs to be probed. Does the real estate boom have a terror link?
International money laundering too has close links with terror and crime. It is estimated that 50 per cent of the US $950 billion money laundered is done by terror-related organizations. According to the UN Monitoring Committee estimates, smuggling funds 29 per cent, drugs 26 per cent, organized crime 24 per cent and financial frauds 21 per cent.
Importantly, the economics of terror extends to many activities in India . Sadly, however the Indian investigative agencies have done little either to study or penetrate these outfits. After 9/11 the US broke the funding links. The UK also has done it. But this is nowhere on the radar of our anti-terror mechanism.
Especially against the background that the Indian agencies are aware of the different modules that fund terror. The Mumbai police investigations found that the founder of the Indian Mujahideen Riyaz Bhatkal, had set-up a recruiting agency for the Gulf countries. He had recruited over 500 youth. This had earned him a huge sum both from the recruits and their employers. The agencies have not investigated whether the employers have links with terror outfits.
Not only that. The Madhya Pradesh Police found that SIMI's chief coordinator Safdar Nagori had held a youth camp at Indore in 2007. He had set a target of raising Rs one crore through donations and charity by mobilizing the youth.
In addition, major funding comes through fake currencies purportedly printed in neighbouring countries and circulated through them. In April last, one Naushad Alam Khan was held in Dhaka with Rs 50 lakh fake Indian currency notes. Khan, it was found, was a close aide of the Harket-ul-Jihadi's (HUJI) Bangladesh Chief Abdul Hanan. Many such fake currencies have been found in Nepal as well.
An ex-Punjab terrorist Kashmir Singh too was arrested in April with 50 kg heroin worth several crores in the international market. He is believed to be working for terror organizations. In the recent Mumbai attack, the terrorists used credit cards apart from other sources of funding.
The Taliban and Al Qaeda have always been raising funds through drug and arms peddling. It is said that it controls the drug triangle and the Myanmar-India-Afghanistan-Europe route.
Their operations reportedly have close links with different insurgent groups in Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, ULFA and other insurgent groups in Assam and Tripura. They operate with close cooperation from their shadow organizations in Nepal and Bangladesh .
Additionally, the Naxalites get arms from myriad sources including China , Pakistan and Afghanistan . Not much study has been done of the finances of the Naxalites. Mere extortions and the poor-exploited people do not fund the billions of rupees spent by the Naxalites in their operations.
The US Commission for Studying the Funding Pattern of Terrorists has come out with a 155-page report. According to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation terrorists in the US have used almost all the available financial services at one time or the other. The US could confiscate properties worth US $850,000 having links to the Al Qaeda and related terror organizations.
The Commission revealed another pattern: terror outfits are acquiring properties and possibly are even active players in the real estate business. The US Administration is looking into the sub-prime crisis from this angle as well. It is also trying to find out how the penetration of these organizations had affected its economy.
Various estimates suggest that terror outfits spent about US $750,000 on eight operations. The US security agencies estimated, as per a Washington Times report on Nov 18 2001, that the 9/11 World Trade Centre attacks cost the terror outfits US $500,000. The UK home office said that the 7/7/2005 London transport system attacks cost the terrorists British pound 8,000. In 2004, the UN Monitoring Team estimated that the Madrid train blast cost US $10,000; the Istanbul truck blasts US $40,000; Jakarta Marriott Hotel blast US $30,000; Bali explosions US $50,000; and the attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania US $50,000.
Clearly, India needs to do a study on the terror financial resources and swoop down on it. It needs a detailed and specific study to pinpoint the lacunae in the legal and financial system so that such funding could be throttled.
Shivaji Sarkar, -INFA
Source: Central Cronicle
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The Swiss government is investigating money laundering charges against British defence company BAE Systems.
Switzerland’s public ministry of the confederation has opened three criminal investigations as a result of alerts by Switzerland's Money Laundering Reporting Office.
BAE Systems has also been investigated by Britain's Serious Fraud Office for its operations in the Czech Republic, Romania, Chile, Qatar, South Africa and Tanzania.
In 2006, the British office dropped a probe into the company that could have implicated Saudi officials over bribes allegedly taken over an arms contract of 53.5 billion euros.
Source: Beijing News
Switzerland’s public ministry of the confederation has opened three criminal investigations as a result of alerts by Switzerland's Money Laundering Reporting Office.
BAE Systems has also been investigated by Britain's Serious Fraud Office for its operations in the Czech Republic, Romania, Chile, Qatar, South Africa and Tanzania.
In 2006, the British office dropped a probe into the company that could have implicated Saudi officials over bribes allegedly taken over an arms contract of 53.5 billion euros.
Source: Beijing News
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on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
By The Citizen Reporter
A seminar on fighting money laundering and terrorism financing takes place in Dar es Salaam today.
The Treasury is conducting the event and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is coordinating it.
It is part of a programme to sensitise participants on the Anti-Money Laundering Law which became operational last July.
Finance and Economic Affairs minister Mustafa Mkulo is scheduled to open the seminar.
''Under the law, FIU is required to create training requirements and provide such training for reporting persons, judicial and law enforcement officers,'' the unit noted in a statement.
''It is for this reason that the FIU has found it necessary to mount this awareness sensitisation programme for all the stakeholders to understand the requirements of the law.''
The law is aimed at creating a strong anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing framework in the country.
The seminar targets to instill the participants with the knowledge and skills as part of the strategy to implement the law.
The Anti-Money Laundering Act, whose section 4 created the FIU, was passed by Parliament in November 2006.
Source: The Citizen
A seminar on fighting money laundering and terrorism financing takes place in Dar es Salaam today.
The Treasury is conducting the event and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is coordinating it.
It is part of a programme to sensitise participants on the Anti-Money Laundering Law which became operational last July.
Finance and Economic Affairs minister Mustafa Mkulo is scheduled to open the seminar.
''Under the law, FIU is required to create training requirements and provide such training for reporting persons, judicial and law enforcement officers,'' the unit noted in a statement.
''It is for this reason that the FIU has found it necessary to mount this awareness sensitisation programme for all the stakeholders to understand the requirements of the law.''
The law is aimed at creating a strong anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing framework in the country.
The seminar targets to instill the participants with the knowledge and skills as part of the strategy to implement the law.
The Anti-Money Laundering Act, whose section 4 created the FIU, was passed by Parliament in November 2006.
Source: The Citizen
on Saturday, May 5, 2012
By Morton Saulo
Victims of terrorist attacks on American embassies in Africa have filed a $40 billion lawsuit against the Republic of Sudan and the Islamic Republic of Iran for their complicity in the attack.
Mr Gavriel Mairone, counsel for the victims, announced that a lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in Federal District Court in Washington DC, on behalf of over 270 employees of the US government (and their family members) that were killed or seriously injured in the Al Qaeda suicide bombings against American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
On August 7, 1998, Al Qaeda perpetrated simultaneous suicide truck bombings on both embassies, killing 247 people and injuring more than 5,000.
Act amended
In January 2008, the US Federal Sovereign Immunity Act was amended to strip states supporting terrorism of immunity and grant employees and contractors of the United States government (in addition to US citizens) the right to sue in US federal court such states for damages resulting from terrorist attacks perpetrated anywhere in the world.
For the first time, survivors and family members of US government employees killed and maimed in the US Embassy bombings in Africa became eligible to seek compensation from the Republic of Sudan and the Islamic Republic of Iran in US federal court.
In December 2004, Mann & Mairone, together with other attorneys, filed an historic, multi-billion dollar lawsuit in US Federal court in New York against Arab Bank on behalf of over 2,000 victims of terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al Aqsa Martyr Brigades and the Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Subsequent to the filing of this lawsuit, the US government fined Arab Bank more than $20 million in connection with money laundering and terrorist financing.
Source: The Standard
Victims of terrorist attacks on American embassies in Africa have filed a $40 billion lawsuit against the Republic of Sudan and the Islamic Republic of Iran for their complicity in the attack.
Mr Gavriel Mairone, counsel for the victims, announced that a lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in Federal District Court in Washington DC, on behalf of over 270 employees of the US government (and their family members) that were killed or seriously injured in the Al Qaeda suicide bombings against American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
On August 7, 1998, Al Qaeda perpetrated simultaneous suicide truck bombings on both embassies, killing 247 people and injuring more than 5,000.
Act amended
In January 2008, the US Federal Sovereign Immunity Act was amended to strip states supporting terrorism of immunity and grant employees and contractors of the United States government (in addition to US citizens) the right to sue in US federal court such states for damages resulting from terrorist attacks perpetrated anywhere in the world.
For the first time, survivors and family members of US government employees killed and maimed in the US Embassy bombings in Africa became eligible to seek compensation from the Republic of Sudan and the Islamic Republic of Iran in US federal court.
In December 2004, Mann & Mairone, together with other attorneys, filed an historic, multi-billion dollar lawsuit in US Federal court in New York against Arab Bank on behalf of over 2,000 victims of terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al Aqsa Martyr Brigades and the Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Subsequent to the filing of this lawsuit, the US government fined Arab Bank more than $20 million in connection with money laundering and terrorist financing.
Source: The Standard
on Friday, May 4, 2012
The closure of all banks in Tanzania on Tuesday has surprised many
businesses in the East African nation.
The unexpected announcement by the Bank of Tanzania is to allow banks to take stock at the end of the fiscal year.
Police assured businesses that security would be beefed up for those scared that robbers would take advantage of those unable to safely bank their cash.
The BBC's Vicky Ntetema in Tanzania says the central bank faces a probe into a money-laundering scandal.
In the last few months, a new bank governor and finance minister have been appointed after allegations of corruption involving millions of dollars.
Our correspondent says many business people in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, have complained at the inconvenience of the bank holiday, which was only announced on Monday.
Regional special police commander for Dar es Salaam, Suleiman Kova, assured bank customers they had nothing to fear if they were caught unawares by the holiday.
"They can contact me directly on my mobile if they are worried about the safety of their money and I have given orders for officers to heavily patrol," he said.
Source: BBC
on Saturday, April 7, 2012
The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) lacks adequate strategies to tackle terrorist funding and money laundering activities despite the existence of laws expressly prohibiting such activities in the country, it has been revealed.
According to the latest report of the Controller and Auditor General (CAG), the BoT is required to be particularly vigilant on issues related to both money laundering and terrorist funding.
Such extra-vigilance entails knowing the purpose of remittances made via local commercial banks and other financial institutions, the report specifies.
It notes that the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2006 and its 2007 regulations give the central bank sufficient mandate to exercise its duties as a ’’regulatory authority, and at the same time as a reporting entity.’’
But the bank lacks comprehensive policies and procedures for its own use in carrying out this mandate, the report states.
’’Furthermore, the bank (BoT) has no comprehensive guidelines in place covering all of the relevant areas of the bank, including the directorate of banking, foreign exchange, bank branch operations and staff duties, government deposits monitoring, and other deposits monitoring,’’ it continues.
The CAG highlighted the need for the central bank to come up with integrated policies for tackling money laundering and monitoring terrorist funding movements.
Says the report: ’’This implies that in the absence of integrated internal BoT anti-money laundering policies cutting across directorates and departments, there are risks of the bank failing to effectively and efficiently execute its core obligation.’’
’’Therefore, the bank should develop a policy and procedures manual dealing with money laundering.’’
The anti-money laundering legislation was set up to make better provisions for prevention and prohibition of money laundering activities in the country.
The law requires financial institutions and their customers to disclose information regarding money laundering.
The government subsequently established a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the national multi-disciplinary committee on money laundering.
Experts say money laundering activities have become quite rampant in Tanzania, with beneficiaries of proceeds from various fraudulent and corrupt deals usually stashing away their ill-gotten wealth in offshore bank accounts.
Money laundering activities have already been traced to a number of major scandals in the country, including the BoT’s external payment arrears (EPA) account embezzlement scam and the overpriced military radar deal.
Regarding terrorism, Tanzania was a victim of the 1998 US Embassy bombing in Dar es Salaam by Al Qaeda, and is still considered at risk from such terrorist activities, along with other countries in the East African region.
It has been reported that in the months following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in the United States, the international community - led by the US - was able to freeze approximately $100m of terrorist funding.
Subsequent efforts over the next three years have failed to add much more than $40m to the total of frozen or confiscated funds.
Some of the reasons for this are traceable to the inherent inadequacies of global regimes designed to combat terrorist financing; others stem from the availability to terrorist networks of alternative methods of raising and moving money.
Yet others reflect the agility, flexibility, adaptability, and sheer ingenuity of terrorist networks that are not burdened with the constraints of sovereignty, not confined to the use of formal financial institutions, and not dependent on state sponsorship for their income.
Source: This Day
According to the latest report of the Controller and Auditor General (CAG), the BoT is required to be particularly vigilant on issues related to both money laundering and terrorist funding.
Such extra-vigilance entails knowing the purpose of remittances made via local commercial banks and other financial institutions, the report specifies.
It notes that the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2006 and its 2007 regulations give the central bank sufficient mandate to exercise its duties as a ’’regulatory authority, and at the same time as a reporting entity.’’
But the bank lacks comprehensive policies and procedures for its own use in carrying out this mandate, the report states.
’’Furthermore, the bank (BoT) has no comprehensive guidelines in place covering all of the relevant areas of the bank, including the directorate of banking, foreign exchange, bank branch operations and staff duties, government deposits monitoring, and other deposits monitoring,’’ it continues.
The CAG highlighted the need for the central bank to come up with integrated policies for tackling money laundering and monitoring terrorist funding movements.
Says the report: ’’This implies that in the absence of integrated internal BoT anti-money laundering policies cutting across directorates and departments, there are risks of the bank failing to effectively and efficiently execute its core obligation.’’
’’Therefore, the bank should develop a policy and procedures manual dealing with money laundering.’’
The anti-money laundering legislation was set up to make better provisions for prevention and prohibition of money laundering activities in the country.
The law requires financial institutions and their customers to disclose information regarding money laundering.
The government subsequently established a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the national multi-disciplinary committee on money laundering.
Experts say money laundering activities have become quite rampant in Tanzania, with beneficiaries of proceeds from various fraudulent and corrupt deals usually stashing away their ill-gotten wealth in offshore bank accounts.
Money laundering activities have already been traced to a number of major scandals in the country, including the BoT’s external payment arrears (EPA) account embezzlement scam and the overpriced military radar deal.
Regarding terrorism, Tanzania was a victim of the 1998 US Embassy bombing in Dar es Salaam by Al Qaeda, and is still considered at risk from such terrorist activities, along with other countries in the East African region.
It has been reported that in the months following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in the United States, the international community - led by the US - was able to freeze approximately $100m of terrorist funding.
Subsequent efforts over the next three years have failed to add much more than $40m to the total of frozen or confiscated funds.
Some of the reasons for this are traceable to the inherent inadequacies of global regimes designed to combat terrorist financing; others stem from the availability to terrorist networks of alternative methods of raising and moving money.
Yet others reflect the agility, flexibility, adaptability, and sheer ingenuity of terrorist networks that are not burdened with the constraints of sovereignty, not confined to the use of formal financial institutions, and not dependent on state sponsorship for their income.
Source: This Day
on Monday, April 2, 2012
by David Leigh
Count Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly questioned over €13m payment from British arms company
An Austrian count and lobbyist for the British arms company BAE has been arrested, making him the first of the company's global network of confidential agents to be held in custody in five years of bribery investigations by international authorities.
Count Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly is being detained in Austria after being arrested on Friday, a spokesman for the Vienna regional court for criminal matters, Christian Gneist, said. He faces a court hearing on 16 March.
Under Austrian law, pre-trial custody can last up to six months if an investigating judge deems it necessary.
Mensdorff-Pouilly owns a castle in Scotland and is married to the former Austrian health minister Maria Rauch-Kallat. He was arrested at his house in Luising, Austria, according to his lawyer, Harald Schuster, who claimed the accusations, which include money laundering, were groundless.
BAE, Europe's biggest arms manufacturer, declined to comment on the arrest.
The Austrian investigation, which follows one by British authorities, relates to lease agreements from 2003 and 2004. Hungary renewed a lease for 14 Gripen planes and the Czech government agreed to lease 14 planes over 10 years. BAE marketed the planes, which are produced by the Swedish company Saab, in which BAE has a 21% stake.
Mensdorff-Pouilly is being questioned in connection with a €13m (£11.6m) payment allegedly made to him by BAE, for whom he had been a consultant for 16 years. Documents which have emerged in the case link BAE to secret payments made to an intermediary company called Valurex, in Switzerland.
Following exposure by the Guardian of the original bribery allegations against BAE, a report last year by the retired British judge Lord Woolf said the arms giant had paid "insufficient attention" to ethical standards when doing arms deals. After strenuous lobbying by BAE, a British investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into bribery allegations in Saudi Arabia was halted by the then prime minister, Tony Blair, on the grounds it would compromise national security.
But the SFO continued to work with international prosecutors on allegations against BAE in eastern Europe, Tanzania, Chile and South Africa. They obtained production orders from BAE and its bankers, Lloyds TSB, which unearthed links with Mensdorff-Pouilly's companies.
Last year, the count was stopped for questioning by the SFO on the way home from Dalnaglar Castle in Perthshire, a property he bought after the conclusion of the Czech deals.
The US justice department has been negotiating with BAE about the possibility of a settlement in a parallel investigation into possible breaches of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Source: The Guardian
Count Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly questioned over €13m payment from British arms company
An Austrian count and lobbyist for the British arms company BAE has been arrested, making him the first of the company's global network of confidential agents to be held in custody in five years of bribery investigations by international authorities.
Count Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly is being detained in Austria after being arrested on Friday, a spokesman for the Vienna regional court for criminal matters, Christian Gneist, said. He faces a court hearing on 16 March.
Under Austrian law, pre-trial custody can last up to six months if an investigating judge deems it necessary.
Mensdorff-Pouilly owns a castle in Scotland and is married to the former Austrian health minister Maria Rauch-Kallat. He was arrested at his house in Luising, Austria, according to his lawyer, Harald Schuster, who claimed the accusations, which include money laundering, were groundless.
BAE, Europe's biggest arms manufacturer, declined to comment on the arrest.
The Austrian investigation, which follows one by British authorities, relates to lease agreements from 2003 and 2004. Hungary renewed a lease for 14 Gripen planes and the Czech government agreed to lease 14 planes over 10 years. BAE marketed the planes, which are produced by the Swedish company Saab, in which BAE has a 21% stake.
Mensdorff-Pouilly is being questioned in connection with a €13m (£11.6m) payment allegedly made to him by BAE, for whom he had been a consultant for 16 years. Documents which have emerged in the case link BAE to secret payments made to an intermediary company called Valurex, in Switzerland.
Following exposure by the Guardian of the original bribery allegations against BAE, a report last year by the retired British judge Lord Woolf said the arms giant had paid "insufficient attention" to ethical standards when doing arms deals. After strenuous lobbying by BAE, a British investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into bribery allegations in Saudi Arabia was halted by the then prime minister, Tony Blair, on the grounds it would compromise national security.
But the SFO continued to work with international prosecutors on allegations against BAE in eastern Europe, Tanzania, Chile and South Africa. They obtained production orders from BAE and its bankers, Lloyds TSB, which unearthed links with Mensdorff-Pouilly's companies.
Last year, the count was stopped for questioning by the SFO on the way home from Dalnaglar Castle in Perthshire, a property he bought after the conclusion of the Czech deals.
The US justice department has been negotiating with BAE about the possibility of a settlement in a parallel investigation into possible breaches of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Source: The Guardian
on Thursday, March 1, 2012
Regional efforts to fight money laundering and terrorist financing suffered a blow this month when the Tanzanian government broke ranks at a council of finance ministers by preventing approval of a report that painted it in a bad light.
Assessments of the efforts by Tanzania and SA to fight money laundering and terrorist financing were tabled for adoption by a meeting of finance ministers in Maseru on August 20.
The reports had been approved by officials of the regional body co- ordinating the fight against the illegal practices and were due to be adopted at ministerial level. SA put its report forward. Tanzania did not.
"Postponement of the approval by the council of ministers... was unexpected, as the approval of the Tanzania report was on the ministers' agenda," said Paul Vlaanderen, president of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the peak intergovernmental body on the issue.
The Tanzanian move clouds the region's processes to combat money laundering and terrorist financing .
"It may raise perceptions of higher risk from a money-laundering control perspective of the region and institutions that have correspondent relations with Tanzanian financial institutions," said a source from the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group.
The extent of money laundered is unknown, but in 1996 the International Monetary Fund put it at 2%-5% of the world's gross domestic product.
Developing countries have a vulnerability to money laundering in a higher level of cash transactions compared to developed countries. The global financial crisis increases this vulnerability as a loss of confidence in the formal banking system encourages more people to stick to cash.
The group's 14 members submit themselves to mutual evaluations, based on on-site visits and adoption of the resulting reports. The Tanzanian report highlighted a failure to implement an antimoney-laundering law on the island of Zanzibar, a source with knowledge of the meeting said. The finance ministers agreed to meet again by December to approve the Tanzanian report, the source said.
"The postponement of the approval of the Tanzania report has no consequences for the group. That might change if the report would not be approved.
"In that case the FATF would have to consider the consequences," Vlaanderen said.
Tanzania's finance minister on Friday defended his decision at the ministerial council. "What we said is there are some weaknesses (in the report) that have to be corrected," Finance Minister Mustafa Mkulo told Business Day. "Ministers agreed that it had to be redone and will be discussed some time in December."
South African officials declined to comment.
Source: AllAfrica
Assessments of the efforts by Tanzania and SA to fight money laundering and terrorist financing were tabled for adoption by a meeting of finance ministers in Maseru on August 20.
The reports had been approved by officials of the regional body co- ordinating the fight against the illegal practices and were due to be adopted at ministerial level. SA put its report forward. Tanzania did not.
"Postponement of the approval by the council of ministers... was unexpected, as the approval of the Tanzania report was on the ministers' agenda," said Paul Vlaanderen, president of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the peak intergovernmental body on the issue.
The Tanzanian move clouds the region's processes to combat money laundering and terrorist financing .
"It may raise perceptions of higher risk from a money-laundering control perspective of the region and institutions that have correspondent relations with Tanzanian financial institutions," said a source from the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group.
The extent of money laundered is unknown, but in 1996 the International Monetary Fund put it at 2%-5% of the world's gross domestic product.
Developing countries have a vulnerability to money laundering in a higher level of cash transactions compared to developed countries. The global financial crisis increases this vulnerability as a loss of confidence in the formal banking system encourages more people to stick to cash.
The group's 14 members submit themselves to mutual evaluations, based on on-site visits and adoption of the resulting reports. The Tanzanian report highlighted a failure to implement an antimoney-laundering law on the island of Zanzibar, a source with knowledge of the meeting said. The finance ministers agreed to meet again by December to approve the Tanzanian report, the source said.
"The postponement of the approval of the Tanzania report has no consequences for the group. That might change if the report would not be approved.
"In that case the FATF would have to consider the consequences," Vlaanderen said.
Tanzania's finance minister on Friday defended his decision at the ministerial council. "What we said is there are some weaknesses (in the report) that have to be corrected," Finance Minister Mustafa Mkulo told Business Day. "Ministers agreed that it had to be redone and will be discussed some time in December."
South African officials declined to comment.
Source: AllAfrica
on Wednesday, February 7, 2007
On a darker note, we now learn that the FBI has actually frozen the funds of all US clients, which were still ‘on account’ at NETeller the online e-wallet. It was earlier believed that the digital money would be refunded to US players and now they are calling it evidence and the cash is on ice.
Strangely enough, the authorities are attempting to link NETeller’s online payment processing of gambling money to terrorist funding. Despite the fact that NETeller in the UK has public shareholders, pays dividends and offers 100% audited financial statements, the FBI is pursuing an argument that e-wallet funds are being used to finance terrorist.
Additionally, despite the transparent nature of all these UK payment companies, subpoenas have been issued to the following Wall Street investment banks HSBC, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Kleinwort. All of these fine companies participated in underwriting public offerings for some of the more popular online gambling webs. They all have offices in London and now they all have records being subpoenaed.
This is simply bizarre. Its a great political move because now you have all the other digital currency operators thinking…Am I next?
One notable online gaming expert is quoted as saying:
“(Terrorism is) a smokescreen thrown up by the right-wing Christian lunatics in the government who want to control every facet of human behavior from birth to death. As far as I know, there isn’t a scintilla of evidence there’s any link between online sites and terrorist groups.” *lvbusinesspress.com
Wow, talk about chasing a wild goose! I have not seen anything like this since Roy Cohn and Joe McCarthy crusaded during 1950’s to stop the ‘Red Threat’. Should we start calling this the ‘Poker Threat’ of 2007?
Look closely, the US has gone from Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s (VA) bill, H.R. 4411, which originally got support from the Christian Coalition in an attempt to ban all Internet gambling, up to the present day which is, David Litterick — the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York attempting to connect the dots between online poker money and Osama Bin Laden style funding support. I just don’t see it. The original anti gambling bill was about stopping kids’ access to online gaming. How did they arrive at this new prosecutorial frontier?
Mr. Litterick is one of the finest legal minds in the US and in the past has prosecuted terrorists involved in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and now holds a top position at the Department of Homeland Security.
The significance of Mr. Litterick’s appearance here is quite a shift in politics since August of last year when Rep. Goodlatte had to burn the midnight oil to gain support for his anti gambling bill. With this kind of persecution ahead of them, I don’t think the NETeller execs have a snowballs chance in hell of surviving the case.
This should be a big warning for the gold backed digital currency e-dinar. Formerly operated by the e-gold think tank this electronic money is based on the Islamic Dinar. Operated from Malaysia and Dubai Internet City (a great headquarter for any online business), the primary function of the e-dinar system is to render payments, in gold (e-dinar) and silver (e-dirham), from one customer account to another.
If they are trying to paint ‘poker’ money as terrorist financing, I can’t imagine what they will say about e-dinar. Of course e-dinar is not yet processing 7 billion + each year. Although its a fine digital gold currency, I don’t think it is quite that popular!
This is IMHO a very dark time for the US. Now at the dawn of a new age of ‘electronic money’, short sighted US regulators are taking one step forward and three steps back.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=20378
Strangely enough, the authorities are attempting to link NETeller’s online payment processing of gambling money to terrorist funding. Despite the fact that NETeller in the UK has public shareholders, pays dividends and offers 100% audited financial statements, the FBI is pursuing an argument that e-wallet funds are being used to finance terrorist.
Additionally, despite the transparent nature of all these UK payment companies, subpoenas have been issued to the following Wall Street investment banks HSBC, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Kleinwort. All of these fine companies participated in underwriting public offerings for some of the more popular online gambling webs. They all have offices in London and now they all have records being subpoenaed.
This is simply bizarre. Its a great political move because now you have all the other digital currency operators thinking…Am I next?
One notable online gaming expert is quoted as saying:
“(Terrorism is) a smokescreen thrown up by the right-wing Christian lunatics in the government who want to control every facet of human behavior from birth to death. As far as I know, there isn’t a scintilla of evidence there’s any link between online sites and terrorist groups.” *lvbusinesspress.com
Wow, talk about chasing a wild goose! I have not seen anything like this since Roy Cohn and Joe McCarthy crusaded during 1950’s to stop the ‘Red Threat’. Should we start calling this the ‘Poker Threat’ of 2007?
Look closely, the US has gone from Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s (VA) bill, H.R. 4411, which originally got support from the Christian Coalition in an attempt to ban all Internet gambling, up to the present day which is, David Litterick — the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York attempting to connect the dots between online poker money and Osama Bin Laden style funding support. I just don’t see it. The original anti gambling bill was about stopping kids’ access to online gaming. How did they arrive at this new prosecutorial frontier?
Mr. Litterick is one of the finest legal minds in the US and in the past has prosecuted terrorists involved in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and now holds a top position at the Department of Homeland Security.
The significance of Mr. Litterick’s appearance here is quite a shift in politics since August of last year when Rep. Goodlatte had to burn the midnight oil to gain support for his anti gambling bill. With this kind of persecution ahead of them, I don’t think the NETeller execs have a snowballs chance in hell of surviving the case.
This should be a big warning for the gold backed digital currency e-dinar. Formerly operated by the e-gold think tank this electronic money is based on the Islamic Dinar. Operated from Malaysia and Dubai Internet City (a great headquarter for any online business), the primary function of the e-dinar system is to render payments, in gold (e-dinar) and silver (e-dirham), from one customer account to another.
If they are trying to paint ‘poker’ money as terrorist financing, I can’t imagine what they will say about e-dinar. Of course e-dinar is not yet processing 7 billion + each year. Although its a fine digital gold currency, I don’t think it is quite that popular!
This is IMHO a very dark time for the US. Now at the dawn of a new age of ‘electronic money’, short sighted US regulators are taking one step forward and three steps back.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=20378
on Sunday, December 10, 2006
2006-12-05 09:44:06
By Judica Tarimo
Officials in the public and private sectors who are involved in grand corruption and looting of public resources will have their foreign bank accounts frozen and properties confiscated, once the review of the anti-corruption law is completed.
The draft bill is ready. The government is finalising formalities for its approval before it is tabled in Parliament, the Minister of State in the President Office (Good Governance), Philip Marmo, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
’’Preparatory processes have been completed?the bill will be presented to the cabinet for preliminary approval this week,’’ said Marmo in an exclusive interview at the anti-corruption forum in Dar es Salaam.
The minister spoke after officiating at the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plans II (NACSAP II).
After the cabinet approval, he said, the bill would be tabled in Parliament for deliberations and final endorsement, before being assented to by the President to become law.
Once it becomes law, it will contain provisions that will take to task corrupt government officials and other people involved in grand corruption, theft of public properties and resources, and international crime.
The new law will seal loopholes used by people employed in the public service and the private sector who steal and deposit government money in bank accounts outside the country.
’’With this legislation, we freeze their accounts and confiscate their suspected ill-gotten wealth, pending completion of investigations,’’ said Marmo.
Anti-corruption crusaders described the document as a fresh government resolve to crack down on grand corruption, which has cost the country billions of shillings.
Current anti-corruption laws could hardly touch big shots black listed by the anti-corruption watchdog.
”Big shots involved in corrupt acts will face a difficult situation once the law becomes operational,” said Marmo, without providing more details.
The new legislation encompasses international conventions against transnational crimes, corruption, money laundering and related practices.
The new document incorporates the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC), African Union (AU), United Nations conventions and other international agreements on corruption and related vices.
’’These are new components in the country’s anti-corruption law. We are faced with difficulties in punishing people stealing money within the country and depositing it in foreign bank accounts,’’ said the minister, ’’such cases can easily be handled and the stolen money recovered.’’
Earlier, the Chairman of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Elvis Msiba, said developing new anti-corruption legislation was useless if the anti-corruption watchdog has no teeth to bite.
’’We cannot win the war if senior government officials and others in the private sector are suspected to be corrupt but left untouched. Let’s take it seriously, and make sure that law bites the culprits,’’ said Musiba.
Speaking at the same occasion, the Chairman of the Media Owners Association of Tanzania, Reginald Mengi, pushed for enactment of a law to protect whistleblowers as a strategy of intensifying the fight against corruption.
’’Whistleblowers need protection?and their information on corrupt people should be treated as confidential.
Disclosure of sources of information will amount to silencing free speech and corruption cover up,’’ said Mengi.
He challenged the government to act timely on bribery scandals exposed by the media in a drive to crack down on grand corruption in government circles and the private sector.
’’Timely action by relevant state organs in relation to corruption scandals exposed by the media will prove the government’s resolve to eradicate bribery and build government credibility,’’ Mengi said.
SOURCE: Guardian
http://www.ippmedia.com/ipp/guardian/2006/12/05/79737.html
By Judica Tarimo
Officials in the public and private sectors who are involved in grand corruption and looting of public resources will have their foreign bank accounts frozen and properties confiscated, once the review of the anti-corruption law is completed.
The draft bill is ready. The government is finalising formalities for its approval before it is tabled in Parliament, the Minister of State in the President Office (Good Governance), Philip Marmo, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
’’Preparatory processes have been completed?the bill will be presented to the cabinet for preliminary approval this week,’’ said Marmo in an exclusive interview at the anti-corruption forum in Dar es Salaam.
The minister spoke after officiating at the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plans II (NACSAP II).
After the cabinet approval, he said, the bill would be tabled in Parliament for deliberations and final endorsement, before being assented to by the President to become law.
Once it becomes law, it will contain provisions that will take to task corrupt government officials and other people involved in grand corruption, theft of public properties and resources, and international crime.
The new law will seal loopholes used by people employed in the public service and the private sector who steal and deposit government money in bank accounts outside the country.
’’With this legislation, we freeze their accounts and confiscate their suspected ill-gotten wealth, pending completion of investigations,’’ said Marmo.
Anti-corruption crusaders described the document as a fresh government resolve to crack down on grand corruption, which has cost the country billions of shillings.
Current anti-corruption laws could hardly touch big shots black listed by the anti-corruption watchdog.
”Big shots involved in corrupt acts will face a difficult situation once the law becomes operational,” said Marmo, without providing more details.
The new legislation encompasses international conventions against transnational crimes, corruption, money laundering and related practices.
The new document incorporates the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC), African Union (AU), United Nations conventions and other international agreements on corruption and related vices.
’’These are new components in the country’s anti-corruption law. We are faced with difficulties in punishing people stealing money within the country and depositing it in foreign bank accounts,’’ said the minister, ’’such cases can easily be handled and the stolen money recovered.’’
Earlier, the Chairman of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Elvis Msiba, said developing new anti-corruption legislation was useless if the anti-corruption watchdog has no teeth to bite.
’’We cannot win the war if senior government officials and others in the private sector are suspected to be corrupt but left untouched. Let’s take it seriously, and make sure that law bites the culprits,’’ said Musiba.
Speaking at the same occasion, the Chairman of the Media Owners Association of Tanzania, Reginald Mengi, pushed for enactment of a law to protect whistleblowers as a strategy of intensifying the fight against corruption.
’’Whistleblowers need protection?and their information on corrupt people should be treated as confidential.
Disclosure of sources of information will amount to silencing free speech and corruption cover up,’’ said Mengi.
He challenged the government to act timely on bribery scandals exposed by the media in a drive to crack down on grand corruption in government circles and the private sector.
’’Timely action by relevant state organs in relation to corruption scandals exposed by the media will prove the government’s resolve to eradicate bribery and build government credibility,’’ Mengi said.
SOURCE: Guardian
http://www.ippmedia.com/ipp/guardian/2006/12/05/79737.html
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