press releases

Zambian Officials and American Experts Discuss Money Laundering

Lusaka
November 14, 2005

U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Andrew Passen speaking at the Anti-Money Laundering Executive Seminar and Workshop hosted by Office of Treasury Assistance, U.S. Department of Treasury. On his right are Deputy Chief Justice David Lewanika and Bank of Zambia Governor Dr. Caleb Fundanga.

Over a hundred Zambian government and law enforcement officials are gathering with American experts this week at the Intercontinental Hotel to discuss how to combat “money laundering” – the funneling of illegally acquired money into legitimate businesses. Armed with the latest information about how drug lords, corrupt public officials, and terrorist organizations abuse the world banking system, Zambian authorities will be better able to track the flow of ill-gotten gains as well as protect the government, the business community, and the public at large from the negative effects of money laundering.

Judicial officials, senior investigators, and prosecutors from several ministries and government bodies are attending the Money Laundering Seminar and Workshop. Agencies represented include Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Zambia Police Service, the Task Force on Corruption, the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, the Commission for Investigations, the National Tender Board, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Bank of Zambia, Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Cabinet Office.

The United States Embassy and the Office of Technical Assistance from the United States Department of the Treasury are hosting the five-day event to help the Republic of Zambia develop its own anti-money laundering program. Andrew A. Passen, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. at the United States Embassy, provided opening remarks outlining the scope of money laundering and how international cooperation can minimize its adverse impact.

"The laundering of criminal proceeds can destabilize banks and other financial institutions,” Mr. Passen said. “We in the U.S. have learned a hard lesson: the failure to protect a financial system from money laundering is bad for business and hinders development."


Delegates will review international standards and conventions, harmonization of draft legislation with existing law, the reporting obligations of financial institutions, rules governing the confiscation of assets illegally acquired, both nationally and internationally, and the international exchange of information.

The U.S. Department of Treasury’s financial enforcement technical assistance program is designed to encourage governments to become more transparent, more accountable, and less corrupt. U.S. Treasury enforcement experts now work with counterparts in over 50 countries to prevent, detect, and prosecute individuals engaged not only in money laundering but also in a variety of other “white collar” financial crimes such as embezzlement, tax evasion, and fraud.