The Central Bank of Nigeria has threatened to close down any bank that connives with government officials to steal public funds or aide in the finance of terrorism.
The Deputy Governor of the CBN, Dr. Okwu Nnanna, told reporters in Abuja on Tuesday that the apex bank would go beyond fines and blacklisting to ensure that erring banks were prevented from operating in the nation’s financial system.
Dr. Nnanna gave the bank’s position in Abuja at a regional workshop on Risk Assessment on Money Laundering and terrorism Financing.
Financial institutions are required by the CBN to adopt policies that will mitigate the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing which is currently an addition to Nigeria’s list of challenges.
Also addressing the gathering, the ECOWAS Director General of the Inter-Governmental Group Against Money Laundering, Mr Adama Coulibaly, condemned the spate of money laundering which is also responsible for terrorism financing.
Mr Coulibaly advised that everyone should be involved to correct all shortcomings in the system.
The financial war on terrorism is no doubt an ongoing one, with the government making efforts to uncover the identities of terrorists and how they are getting funding.
