The Senate has considered and passed for second reading two critical bills seeking to facilitate the immediate prosecution of money launderers and terrorist financiers in Nigeria.
The bills are Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2021, sponsored by Senator Suleiman Umar (APC, Kwara North) and Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) (Repeal & Re-enactment) Bill, 2021 sponsored by senator Suleiman Abdu Kwari (APC, Kaduna North).
Senator Umar in his lead debate explained that the legislation seeks to repeal the extant Act and enact the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2021 to provide a more comprehensive legal and institutional framework for the prevention and prohibition of money laundering in Nigeria.
According to the lawmaker, the bill takes into consideration the changing patterns and techniques implored by money launderers in modern times driven by technological advancement.
He noted that the inadequacies of previous legislation on Money laundering led to a series of legislative reforms which culminated in the enactment of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
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Seconding the bill, Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC, Kogi West), said the legislation when enacted, would allow the government to probe those who have held public offices with inexplicable sources of monies and properties within and outside the country.
He added that Anybody who has held public office in times past should be ready to give account including the lawmakers as the country is bleeding, with no jobs for
people who are dying of poverty.
The Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2021, and Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) (Repeal & Re-enactment) Bill, 2021, after consideration, were both referred to the Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes to report back to the upper chamber in four weeks.
(Editor: Ena Agbanoma)
