This conference paper/contribution will examine measures to identify and curb illicit financial activities and transfer of funds on, and from, the African continent. To set the scene, it will introduce formal means of payment and funds transfer (open account trading, documentary letters of credit, documentary bank collections, payment intermediaries and other (formal) funds transfer services), but also take into account some informal or emerging options of moving funds (informal systems based on honour and trust, e.g., hawala, or emerging mobile phone-based systems, e.g., M-Pesa).
While all these payment systems and providers can, and in fact mostly do, handle legitimate funds and legitimate transactions, they can also be used by criminals. Through all these available payment systems, criminals may facilitate financial crime such as bribery and corruption, money laundering, commercial fraud, or circumvention of capital flow restrictions. To a developing country or region and, most importantly, its disadvantaged people, this can have devastating effects. A mature and effective legislative and regulatory framework, and due diligence in the scrutiny of parties and transactions involving funds transfers, both locally as well as internationally, will be necessary to prevent the illicit flow of financial means.
The paper/contribution will shed light on important concepts such as “Know Your Customer (KYC)”, “risk-based approach”, “politically exposed persons/specially designated persons”, “corresponding banking”, “de-risking”, and the usefulness of so-called “financial crime indicators” to combat the problem of illicit financial flows. Special emphasis will be placed on Africa and Africa-specific issues. Without a sound understanding of these concepts, and their relevance to methods of payment and funds transfers, there can be no meaningful discussion on the issue of illicit financial flows within an African context.
Given the fact that the focus of ASAUK’s activities is not primarily on law and banking, and assuming that the ASAUK 2018 conference will, likewise, not primarily speak to legal scholars/law students/bankers, I will make sure that the paper/contribution will be interesting for, and readily accessible to, scholars/students/participants from other disciplines and academic fields who do not have prior advanced knowledge of law and banking.
Similarly, I will develop a presentation or PowerPoint slides which focus on specific aspects which lend themselves to an oral presentation so as not to discourage the audience. If, in addition to an oral presentation, a full academic paper is expected, such a paper will of course be more substantial and detailed.