Informal money transfers: fuelling Lake Chad Basin’s illicit economies
New research shows how governments can prevent informal money transfers from being used to facilitate organised crime and terrorism.
Date: 2025-12-03
Time: 11:00 to 12:30
Venue: Online via Zoom
Informal money transfers are a financial lifeline in the Lake Chad Basin, bolstering local economies and facilitating remittances and humanitarian aid flows in marginalised and insecure regions. But these transfers also enable ransom payments after kidnappings, the laundering of proceeds from cattle rustling and smuggling, and sustain terrorists’ financing streams.
New ENACT research findings on the issue will be discussed at this seminar, including the intersections with criminal networks, and enforcement challenges faced by regulators.
Simultaneous English-French interpretation will be provided.
Moderator: Dr Carina Bruwer, Wildlife in Trade Unit Manager, Endangered Wildlife Trust, Cape Town, South Africa
Opening remarks: Representative, EU Delegation to Central Africa
Speakers:
- Dr Oluwole Ojewale, Regional Coordinator, ENACT, ISS Dakar
- Abba Ali Yarima Mustapha, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria
- Momodou Saho, Deputy Director & Head of Compliance and Prevention, Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa, Senegal
