Reinforcing fight against financial crimes: IMF training officials on tracking, sanctioning perpetrators.

They are being trained by IMF experts in an effort to reinforce the fight against financial crimes in the country in particular, and in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, CEMAC, as a whole. 

According to the Director of Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, Mevoua Benoit Placide, who is also President of the NACAF, the training is limited only to members of the said Commission.

Mevoua said in conjunction with the National Agency for the Fight Against Financial Crimes, ANIF, members of NACAF have been engaged in a ruthless fight against financial crimes, but lack the institutional framework to effectively track down perpetrators and met out sanctions that tally with the requirements of the United Nations.

He explained that it is this shortcoming that caused the IMF to send its team of experts to train members of the NACAF to look into how to put in place mechanisms that strengthen institutional framework, so that the fight against financial crimes could be more productive. 

The productivity is expected to lead to a reduction in financial activities and related criminal activities within and across the frontiers of the national territory.

The prevalence of the crimes, Mevoua said, have continued to keep Cameroon in the grey list of countries the United Nations Security Council considers to be, either promoters or enablers of financial crimes.

The NACAF President expressed optimism that after the training, the required framework to better follow up, track down criminals and sanction them would be put in place.

He paid glowing tribute to ANIF, which, Mevou said, had done so much to enlighten members of NACAF, so that they understand their task and the challenges that they are expected to surmount.

Assignment proper

During the five days, the IMF team will be drilling NACAF members on how to track down people who finance terrorist activities across the world and who could use Cameroon’s national territory either as a transit route or as one of their operational bases.

They will also update participants´ knowledge on how to fight against money laundering, and how such money could be used to finance purchase of weapons, use them to destabilise governments, and create an atmosphere of generalised insecurity.

He deplored the fact that Cameroon remains wanting when it comes to engaging in coordinated effort with international organisations in fighting these crimes, for which reason the country is still classified as a non-conforming nation to internationally accepted regulations. 

During the period also, government is expected to adopt the document, (Regulation Number 04/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM) of 20 December, 2024, formulated by the Action Group Against Money Laundering in Central Africa, known by the French acronym, GABAC.

They will also officially recognise and install members of NACAF, and grant the Commission powers to sanction persons caught infringing both national and international laws against financial crimes.

Before the training ends, participants are expected to put in place a communication platform, through which the activities of NACAF would be disseminated.

The President of NACAF expressed confidence in the IMF delegation members to do a good job, so that at the end, the country team will be able to carry out its responsibilities with greater accuracy, confidence, and meet the expectations of the UN in matters of national and international security. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3713 of Tuesday February 24, 2026