PH
A senior advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has blasted the federal government’s latest attempt to amend the money laundering law, saying it would weaken the fight against corruption.
Speaking at a workshop on the “Roles of Professionals in the Fight against Corruption”, in Abuja on Thursday, popular human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has said that the President Buhari-led federal government’s latest attempt to amend the money laundering law would weaken the fight against corruption.
“Instead of addressing the challenges encountered in dealing with the menace of money laundering, the federal government has submitted the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2016.
“In view of the serious objections to certain provisions of the proposed Bill by the EFCC, the National Assembly is urged to conduct a public hearing with a view to ensuring that the limited success recorded in the fight against money laundering is not sacrificed on account of expediency,” he said at the event organized by the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti corruption.
Femi Falana expressed disappointment that the Nigerian Bar Association had not followed the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria for their role on the fight against corruption.
“While (ICAN) has taken a bold and patriotic action towards ensuring that her members comply with the provisions of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, the (NBA) has strongly resisted the subjection of her members (lawyers) to the anti-money laundering framework enshrined in the MLA (Money Laundering Act).
“In specific terms, ICAN had commendably issued a compliance document called the ‘ICAN Members Guidance on Money Laundering’ which further explains the provisions of the MLA as it affects Chartered Accountants, the necessity for complying with same and the consequences of non-compliance.
“On its part, the NBA has insisted that lawyers cannot be subjected to certain anti-money laundering provisions and requirements under the MLA.
“The NBA’s contention is that legal practitioners have certain duties to their clients which are imposed on them by the Legal Practitioners Act 1975, the Evidence 2011 and the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2009,” said Mr. Falana
