By Ishmael Bayoh, Information Attachè, Sierra Leone Embassy Dakar, Senegal
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Hon. Alpha Sesay, Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon. Morie Lengor and the Deputy Minister of Finance II, Hon. Bockarie Kalokoh and joined by Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Senegal, His Excellency Ibrahim Turay, on Saturday May 17th 2025 participated in the 30th Ministerial Committee meeting (GMC) of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) held at the King Fahd Palace hotel in Dakar, Senegal.
The GMC is the supreme political decision-making organ of GIABA. It comprises the three GIABA line ministers from all member States (Ministries of Finance, Security/Interior, and Justice). They reviewed and adopt, among others, the semi-annual activity report of the Director-General for the period November 2024 to May 2025; the report of the 43rd meeting of the Technical Committee/Plenary of GIABA which was attended by the Financial Intelligence Unit Director of Sierra Leone, Mr. N. Borbor, and a memorandums on the adoption of the 3rd Calendar Cycle of Mutual Evaluation. 
During his opening remarks, GIABA’s Director General, Edwin W. Harris said as the institution celebrates its silver jubilee, they have made efforts to champion financial accountability. He assured of working towards peace, regional security and prosperity for all ECOWAS citizens.
The 43rd plenary meeting of the Technical Commission was held from 11 May to 16 May 2025 in Dakar. It is held twice a year to encourage discussions between technical experts from the Member States (MS) on the threats and challenges related to the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) in the sub-region.
In November 2024, GIABA in collaboration with the Government of Sierra Leone, held its Statutory Meeting (42nd Technical Commission /Plenary and 29th Ministerial Committee Meeting) from the 17th-23rd November 2024 in Freetown. That meeting offered an opportunity for GIABA member States to come together to discuss regional AML/CFT/PF matters and share their experiences concerning challenges faced in implementing effective AML/CFT measures.
