Lomé Pushes to Become Africa’s Compliance Capital by 2026

Economic governance
Thursday, 10 July 2025 05:27
Lomé Pushes to Become Africa’s Compliance Capital by 2026

(Togo First) - Togo reaffirmed its commitment on Tuesday to become a central player in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) in Africa. For the second consecutive year, Lomé has hosted the Grand Meeting of Compliance and Risk Officers (GRCRO) since July 8, 2025. The event brings together over 600 compliance professionals, including regulators, auditors, bankers, and civil society representatives, from 42 countries.

The Togolese Association of Compliance Officers (ATCO) organized the event amidst growing demands from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) across the continent. As of June 2025, twelve African states remained on the FATF's grey list, signaling increased monitoring for strategic deficiencies in their ML/TF frameworks. Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Algeria, and South Africa are directly affected.

"Africa has lost over $1 trillion in illicit financial flows over the past 50 years," warned Georges Essowè Barcola, Togo's Minister of Economy and Finance, during the opening ceremony. He added that annual losses from illicit financial flows have risen from $50 billion to $90 billion in five years, amounting to nearly 4% of Africa’s GDP. Togo, he emphasized, intends to play its full part in addressing this issue.

The minister highlighted the crucial role of financial institutions and designated non-financial professions within Togo’s compliance framework. He also stressed the need to strengthen public-private partnerships to counter increasingly sophisticated criminal networks. "Effectiveness must be the standard of Togo’s framework, in view of the third round of mutual evaluation scheduled for 2030," he said.

Kimélabalou Aba, president of Togo’s High Authority for the Prevention and Fight Against Corruption and Related Offenses (HAPLUCIA), echoed this message. Aba stated that the compliance function "no longer stops at applying regulations" but has evolved into a systemic prevention tool and a means to embed ethics in both public and private governance. "The fight for integrity is demanding, but it is just and necessary," Aba stressed.

Félix Edoh Kossi Amenounvé, Director General of the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM), who was also present in Lomé, outlined his institution's efforts to integrate compliance requirements into all operations. "We have implemented an anti-money laundering policy, integrated ESG standards, strengthened audit and oversight, and introduced a governance code for listed companies. It is essential that our financial center remains credible in the eyes of investors," he explained.

According to Nikada Batchoudi, president of ATCO, this momentum is expected to accelerate. "We must feed the judicial systems with red flags and build a pan-African compliance community," Batchoudi said. A roadmap is expected to be adopted after this second edition. The stated ambition is to establish Lomé as Africa’s capital in the fight against money laundering by July 2026.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

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