Ghana has successfully hosted the onsite visit for its Third Round Mutual Evaluation (ME) exercise, the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), Mr Kwadwo Twum Boafo, has announced.
This marks a major step in assessing the country’s compliance with international standards on anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and counter-proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF).
The exercise was conducted under the framework of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), a specialised institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in line with benchmarks established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Briefing journalists in Accra after the exercise, Mr Twum-Boafo said the onsite visit, held from January 26 to February 6, 2026, marked the most critical phase of the evaluation process.
According to him, the assessors held meetings with a wide range of competent authorities, supervisory and self-regulatory bodies, as well as representatives of financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses and professions, non-profit organisations, and virtual asset service providers.
Unlike previous assessments, he said the Third Round Mutual Evaluation placed strong emphasis on effectiveness, with assessors examining Ghana’s understanding of money laundering and terrorist financing risks, risk-based supervision, the use of financial intelligence in investigations, prosecution of offences, targeted financial sanctions, transparency of beneficial ownership information, asset recovery outcomes, and inter-agency and international cooperation mechanisms.
Mr Twum Boafo said the onsite visit provided Ghana with an opportunity to demonstrate legislative reforms, regulatory enhancements, and improved institutional coordination introduced since the last evaluation, underscoring the country’s commitment to protecting the financial system and combating illicit financial flows. He described the successful completion of the onsite mission as a significant milestone in Ghana’s AML/CFT/CPF journey but noted that the Mutual Evaluation process was still ongoing.
The CEO explained that during the mission, a team of international assessors and officials from the GIABA Secretariat engaged extensively with stakeholders across Ghana’s public and private sectors to validate the country’s level of technical compliance with the FATF’s 40 Recommendations and to assess the effectiveness of its AML/CFT/CPF framework. The final report is expected to be considered for adoption at the GIABA Plenary scheduled for November 2026.
Mr Twum Boafo noted that the opening session brought together high-level government and institutional leaders, including the Deputy Minister for Finance, Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem; the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiamah; the National Security Coordinator, COP Osman Abdul Razak; representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and the Director General of GIABA, Mr Edwin Harris Jnr.
The closing ceremony was attended by the Minister for Finance and Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on CPF, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson; the Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mrs Matilda Asante; the Deputy National Security Coordinator, Madam Elizabeth Yankah; the FIC CEO; and representatives of GIABA, bringing the two-week mission to a close.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
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