South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
The Vice President for Economic Cluster H.E Dr. James Wani Igga on Monday proposed harsh penalties for corrupt officials.
“We are beginning from scratch, the government needs to extend anti-money laundering campaign to all financial institutions, and of course increase civil and criminal penalties,” said Dr. Igga during the opening of the two days’ workshop on Anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism in Juba.
DR. Igga said the financial regulatory agencies must evaluate all institutions dealing with anti-money laundering records in a bid to standardize them.
“Optimal use of anti-money laundering tools requires a regulatory and policy environment that embraces data sharing on collaborative analysis as well as access by supervisors and law enforcement,” he said.
Sonia Essobmadje, the Chief of Finance and Domestic Mobilization for United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), said that adhering to international Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism standards helps combat corruption, stem the flow of illicit funds and contribute to global security.
“This commitment not only helps in maintaining the integrity of the nation’s financial institutions but also positions South Sudan as a responsible member of the international community,” said Essobmadje.
Agok Makur, the Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning said they are making significant steps to establish financial intelligence unit to detect and monitor money laundering activities.
“After we signed the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, we have started implementing economic reforms, South Sudan has taken significant steps to establish financial intelligence unit and anti-money laundering is a very important thing to address as part of reform,” said Makur.
