Olajumoke Odudimu, Company Secretary, Velex Advisory moderating the panel session Responsible Gaming: Player Protection in Nairobi, Kenya.

Olajumoke Odudimu, Company Secretary, Velex Advisory Nigeria, takes a deep dive into an aspect of laws aimed at nipping monetary offences in the bud

Anti-money laundering (AML) policies refer to a set of regulations, practices, and guidelines designed to ensure that Financial Institutions and Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions prevent, identify, and report financial crimes, particularly money laundering activities.

Money laundering involves disguising the original ownership and control of illicitly obtained funds, typically to legitimise those funds or conceal illegal activities within the legitimate financial system. It is disguising illegally obtained money or assets to make them appear lawful.

It is important for gaming companies to not only have a standard and comprehensive AML policy but also ensure strict adherence to the provisions of AML legislation, regulations, and guidelines in Nigeria, thereby instilling a strong compliance culture within the company and adopting international best practices. Effective policies answer questions about what employees do (such as directions, limits, principles, and decision-making guidance) and why they do it.

The key Nigerian AML laws and regulations include; the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Countering the Proliferation Financing of Weapons of Mass Destruction for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions and Other Related Matters) Regulations, 2024, Regulation for the Implementation of Targeted Financial Sanctions on Terrorism, Terrorism Financing and Other Related Measures, 2022 and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit Act, 2018.

Other related regulations include the CBN (Administrative Sanctions) Regulations, 2018, the CBN (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Regulation, 2019, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act of 2004, which established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.