| By State House Communication Unit
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is a body dealing with anti-money laundering and combating terrorism financing in Sierra Leone. During the meeting, both the president and the FIU team acknowledged the challenges facing the institution and pointed out the importance of its membership to focus on doing the right things by adopting international standards to addressing money laundering and terrorism financing in not just Sierra Leone but the sub-region as a whole. President Koroma thanked the team and commended them for making progress as reported. Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit Ahmed B. Kamara apprised the president of the situation regarding the 2013 annual report which, he said, covers the period March to December 2013, adding that FIU only became operational on 31st October 2013 through funds provided by government. Mr Kamara went on to note that in 2014, the FIU embarked on aggressive implementation of programmes and activities to address the risks as well as the threat of money laundering and terrorism financing facing Sierra Leone. In May of the same year, he said, the FIU was mandated by the governing body, Inter-Ministerial Committee to spearhead a national anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing national risk assessment in order to identify, analyze and understand the drivers of money laundering and terrorism financing that has recently been completed. |
President Ernest Bai Koroma on Tuesday 8 August received the 2013 and 2014 Annual Reports from the Financial Intelligence Unit at State House in Freetown.
