COFICERT
COFICERT: COFICERT FRANCE AWARDS THE AML 30000 CERTIFICATE TO BGFI BANK GABON, UNDER THE AEGIS OF THE MINISTER OF ECONOMY AND RECOVERY

PRESS RELEASE

Minister of Economy and Recovery of Gabon, Madame Nicole Jeanine Lydie Roboty

Paris, 3rd of May 2022, 5pm : COFICERT France, certification body specializing in financial and extra-financial certifications, announces having awarded the AML 30000 certificate to BGFI Bank Gabon, during a ceremony attended by the Minister of Economy and Recovery, officials of the Gabonese State, including the President of the National Commission for the Fight Against Illicit Enrichment (CNLCEI), representatives of international organizations, the leaders of the main local banking establishments and many diplomats.

“This important certification, unprecedented for an establishment in the CEMAC zone, delights us for a number of reasons. It is in line with the priorities of the Gabonese Republic Government, which has launched a nationwide AML/CFT risk assessment process… It is therefore becoming a priority and strategic for African financial players to adopt appropriate policies, bringing them in line with international standards”, it is in these terms that the Minister of Economy and Recovery (ministry depository of the country’s AML laws), Mrs. Nicole Jeanine Lydie Roboty, called on all the financial institutions present in Gabon to be assessed in order to claim the AML 30000 certification (Anti-Money Laundering, Index 30000)

In the context of evolving global context, the constant upsurge in financial crime is forcing international regulations and sanctions to be increasingly stringent and force financial players to exercise enhanced vigilance. The exposure to risk, being such that it appears essential for financial institutions to upgrade their compliancy with the international standards in force on the one hand and to assert it on the other hand. Protecting against money laundering, terrorist financing and weapons of mass destruction, becomes strategic for financial institutions, as all these evils are carefully observed and scrupulously tracked at an international scale. Current events give reason to the importance of this phenomenon in Central and Sub-Saharan Africa and to the urgency for all financial institutions in the region to act in order to avoid financial sanctions and economic isolation. Consequently, the development of activities on a national and international scale will only go through the integration of these subjects and the perfect mastery of their inherent risk, explained the experts that attended the ceremony.

A powerful message sent by the authorities, at the highest level of the State. The AML 30000 certification offers an undeniable competitive advantage in an evolving ecosystem. This is especially true in a competitive environment, in search of reliable and independent benchmarks or indicators. The compliancy with the AML 30000 standard requirements, stands as a passport for its beneficiary serving its international exposure.

The organization CFC Partners [extension of Maghreb Corporate in Africa and MENA, historical partner of SGS (Swiss organization, world leader of the certification industry) and DEKRA (German organization, European leader of the certification industry)], has intervened on the BGFI Bank file on behalf of the French certification body COFICERT. Mr Souheil Skander, Managing Director of CFC Partners, specifies that the highly regulated and supervised nature of the certification activity requires that the intervention of the certification body to be done generally downstream of the AML/CFT mechanism upgrades implemented by the beneficiary. As such, it is the English law firm ASHURST which is responsible for upgrading the AML/CFT mechanisms, for all the subsidiaries of the BGFI Group.

Mr Cristian Mocanu, Secretary-General of COFICERT, recalled that the work of the certifiers begins where that of the advice ends and that in this matter, the firm ASHURST represented by its AML/CFT experts, lawyer Olivier Dorgan and lawyer Paul Charlot, carried out a tremendous groundwork, allowing COFICERT to intervene with confidence and serenity. Mr Mocanu welcomes the efforts made by BGFI Gabon which led to the obtainment of the AML 30000 certificate, while recalling that the certificate has a validity period of 3 years, subject to an annual follow-up evaluation, thus inviting the banking leader of the country to maintain and strengthen their AML/CFT efforts.

Me. Omar Ferchiou, lawyer at the bar of New York and AML/CFT specialist, confirms the reassuring nature of the AML 30000 certification for financial institutions, where economic sanctions have never been so frequent and heavy in consequence, for concerned persons who would come to breach the laws in force.

Mr Henri-Claude Oyima, CEO of the BGFI Group, announced his commitment not only to lead the subsidiaries of BGFI, one by one, to obtain the AML 30000 certification, but also to renew and guarantee the certification over time, for each certified subsidiary, in order to provide assurance to all of BGFI’s stakeholders, of the group’s total involvement in the fight against financial crime and the efforts made to work towards the integrity of the financial system, in all of the 12 countries where the bank is currently activating. BGFI has set an example in the region and paved the way for other financial institutions in the market. This is a strong message sent by Mr Henri-Claude Oyima, allowing a leveling up of these subjects, while initiating a virtuous dynamic of generalization of these good practices, to allow a better attractiveness of the Gabonese financial centre, and while preserving as well promoting the interests of the country.

From left to right, Souheil Skander CEO CFC Partners, Lawyer Paul Charlot Expert of Law Firm ASHURST, Dieudonné Odounga Awassi President of the National Commission for the Fight Against Illicit Enrichment (CNLCEI), Cristian Mocanu Secretary-General COFICERT, Henri-Claude Oyima CEO BGFI Group, Madame Nicole Jeanine Lydie Roboty Minister of Economy and Recovery  in Gabon, Loukoumanou Waidi CEO BGFI Bank Gabon, Omar Ferchiou Lawyer at the bar of New York.