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The Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Matilda Asante-Asiedu, has urged institutions responsible for Ghana’s financial crime controls to sustain their engagement and address outstanding gaps in the country’s ongoing Financial Action Task Force (FATF) mutual evaluation.
Asante-Asiedu said the outcome of the assessment would depend on the collective efforts of participating institutions, particularly their ability to provide the data and information required to support the evaluation process.
Speaking at the 2026 COCLAB Technical Committee workshop in the Eastern Region on Thursday, September 10, she said some outstanding issues remained to be resolved to improve Ghana’s prospects of achieving a positive assessment outcome.
BoG calls for collective action on FATF gaps
Asante-Asiedu stressed that the FATF assessment was not the responsibility of a single institution, noting that several agencies had already contributed by providing information and supporting the evaluation process.
“Success in this assessment would not be, and I’m sure has not been, the responsibility of only one institution. All of you have contributed by providing data and sharing information,” she said.
She urged member institutions to remain actively involved in resolving outstanding issues and completing pending actions, warning that even relatively small gaps could influence the overall assessment.
“I encourage the member institutions to remain fully engaged and address the outstanding gaps because there are a few that we need to close in order to successfully scale this process,” she said.
The call highlights the importance of coordinated regulatory and institutional action as Ghana works to strengthen its framework for preventing and responding to financial crime.
COCLAB urged to strengthen multi-agency cooperation
Beyond the FATF evaluation, Asante-Asiedu called for the Committee of Chief Compliance Officers of Banks (COCLAB) to evolve into a stronger model of cooperation between law enforcement agencies and financial sector institutions.
She said the committee should place greater emphasis on intelligence-led action, innovation and measurable results, particularly as financial criminals continue to adopt new methods and technologies.
“I will encourage us to build a COCLAB that stands as a model of multi-agency cooperation; one that drives intelligence-led action, one that embraces innovation because the fraudsters are very innovative, and delivers measurable outcomes,” she said.
The emphasis on intelligence sharing and innovation reflects the changing nature of financial crime, where digital channels and increasingly sophisticated techniques require stronger coordination between regulators, financial institutions and enforcement agencies.
Stronger controls critical to confidence in digital payments
Asante-Asiedu said progress in the FATF assessment and stronger financial crime controls would contribute to the resilience of Ghana’s financial system and help sustain public confidence in digital payments.
She emphasised the importance of ensuring that the digital financial ecosystem remains secure as consumers and businesses increasingly depend on electronic payment channels.
“A resilient financial ecosystem where digital payments that we all depend on remain secure, and where public confidence continues to grow instead of waning,” she said.
The Second Deputy Governor added that the Bank of Ghana would continue supporting efforts to make COCLAB more proactive and results-oriented in combating financial crime.
The ongoing work is expected to strengthen cooperation among relevant institutions while helping Ghana address the remaining issues identified through its FATF mutual evaluation and reinforce its broader financial crime prevention framework.
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