Godfred Yeboah Dame (Hon.), Minister for Justice and the Attorney-General for the Republic has called for closer collaboration between Countries to help trace illegally acquired wealth of criminals.

The respected Attorney-General made the call in his address this morning, 2nd day of September, 2024 at the 41st Cambridge Economic Crime Summit held at the Jesus College of the University of Cambridge. In attendance during the address by Hon. Dame were leading British politicians such as the Attorney-General of England and Wales, the mayor of England, the mayor of London, Attorneys-General of other States, senior judicial officers, legislators, leading academics in law and business and police chiefs from over 100 countries.

Hon. Dame pointed out that Regional Integration posed challenges to many states in tracing illicit funds and financial activity citing the example of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) which according to the Minister "whilst presenting Africa with its greatest opportunity to show to the world the strength of its potential and the entrepreneurial spirit of the people, has unleashed a new set of issues of concern to law enforcement authorities. These take the form of migratory problems, how to deal with the phenomenon of corruption within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area, money laundering and environmental challenges."

Deploy International agreements on Corruption

In his pointed address which covered all salient aspects of fighting economic crime, Hon. Dame reiterated the need for concerted efforts at fighting economic crime as he highlighted the role bilateral agreements could play in that light. With a focus on his continent, he said "Many African countries are signatories to international conventions such as the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption. These agreements must be deployed to facilitate cross-border cooperation in assets recovery."

Free International data sharing To bolster cooperation between states in recovery of assets procured or arising from crime, the Honourable Minister highlighted the areas criminals exploit to engage in criminal conduct and financial crime. According the Minister, criminals exploit differences between countries to further their objectives, enrich their organisations, expand their network, and avoid detection or apprehension. They also establish influence in government, politics and commerce through corrupt and illegitimate means.