The Gambia’s booming real estate
sector has provided a conduit, a channel through which drug traffickers,
corrupt people and other criminals involve in illicit financial activities to
launder their ill-gotten gains.
The 2013 annual report of the
Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa
(GIABA), released on Monday, stated that the most prevalent predicate crimes in
the country in 2013 were drug trafficking, corruption, tax fraud, bank fraud
and fraud in other investments.
Monies generated from such criminal
ventures are typically laundered through the real estate, cross-border cash
movements, and banks.
Real estate sector
The rapid development in The
Gambia’s real estate sector is increasingly becoming a cause for concern as it
is one of the sectors that are most vulnerable to the activities of money
launderers.
The country continues to witness
tremendous development in the construction and real estate sector with strong
foreign direct investment. Almost all the major coastal and some inland
towns and villages have at least one housing estate or individual properties
situated randomly for sale.
However, the increased pace of
economic development in the real estate sector also presents a challenge to the
country. This is so because The Gambia is yet to fully develop a
regulatory framework to shield itself against criminals using real estate to launder
their ill-gotten money or proceeds from criminal activities.
