The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has advised the public to avail themselves for scrutiny over unexplained wealth, and also report suspicious financial transactions for investigations.

According to the BoG, the move is part of efforts to help control money laundering in the country.

This was captured in the BoG’s notice on money laundering in Ghana. 

“Sudden unexplained wealth could be as a result of money laundering and you could be prosecuted. Be sure to be in a position to satisfactorily explain your sources of wealth”, BoG cautioned.

The central bank appealed to the general public to assist the regulators in the financial with information on the source of funds used in some financial transactions in the country.

In addition, the BoG asked bank customers not to allow friends use their accounts for transactions that cannot be independently verified.

Money laundering is the process whereby money obtained from unlawful activities such as drug trafficking and corruption is legitimized through complex transactions and a process called ‘cleaning’ to hide its illegal source.

Both the underlying illegal activities which produce the ‘dirty’ money that has to be ‘washed or cleaned’ and money laundered which seeks to legitimize the proceeds of the illegal activities are punishable by law.

According to the BoG, not only does money laundering undermine the integrity of financial institutions but also has far-reaching consequences for the economy, businesses and society as a whole.

In order to control money laundering and terrorist financing, one may be required to disclose and prove the source of funds used to undertake transactions at all BoG licensed and regulated institutions.

In 2016, a mutual evaluation carried out identified significant deficiencies in Ghana’s anti-money laundering, counter-financial terrorism and proliferation financing regime, leading to a greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force.

It was not until 2020 that Ghana was de-listed following extensive reforms to strengthen the regime.

To consolidate the gains, the BoG reminded the public that sudden unexplained wealth could be a result of money laundering which could lead to prosecution.

It also advised the public to always be in the position to satisfactorily explain their sources of wealth and reminded them that assets and properties with proceeds from money laundering activities can be confiscated and individuals involved prosecuted.