A high-profile Liberian delegation including the country’s Justice Minister, Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, and the Security Advisor to the President, Samuel Kofi Woods, as well as senior officials of the Financial Intelligence Agency of Liberia (FIA), attended and participated in the 43rd Plenary meeting of Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) that was held in Dakar, Senegal.

 GIABA, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) specialized body convened its 43rd Plenary Meeting in Dakar, Senegal, from May 11 to May 16, 2025. The prestigious gathering brought together representatives from ECOWAS member states and observers who technically discussed regional efforts in fighting Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and other financial crimes that are prevalent in West Africa and elsewhere.

During the Plenary, Ivory Coast, Togo, and Benin, presented their enhanced follow-up reports that haveassessed their respective progress in executing Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing measures. The gathering also entertained technical discussions on mutual evaluations, risk monitoring, and policy reviews that are intended to strengthen compliance with international financial regulations.

GIABA Director General, Edwin W. Harris stressed the need for greater cooperation andpolitical commitment to robustly tackle financial crimes in the ECOWAS region and elsewhere. The GIABA plenary meeting also included a closed-door Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) Forum, where well-experienced experts elaborated on strategies to improve financial security.

The plenary ended with recommendations for enhancing regional collaboration and reinforcing technical measures against illicit financial practices.