US embassy cable - 02ABUJA3311

UNCLAS ABUJA 003311 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
FOR INL AND AF 
. 
TREASURY FOR OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT -- SHAUN LONERGAN 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN, SNAR, KCRM, NI 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA:  FATF UPDATE -- NEW HOPE 
 
REF: A. ABUJA 3185 
     B. 3138 
     C. AND PREVIOUS 
 
 
1.(SBU)  RNLEO December 12 contacted Senator Abdullahi 
Abubakar, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Drugs and 
Financial Crimes, for an update on the legislation being 
considered by the National Assembly in response to FATF 
concerns.  Abubakar reported that he had chaired a 
"harmonization" committee meeting consisting of two other key 
Senators and three members of the House of Representatives on 
the night of December 10.  The harmonization committee met 
immediately following a House meeting on the draft anti-money 
laundering legislation.  According to Abubakar, the 
harmonization committee members had been sensitized to the 
concerns of the FATF with regards to the changes made by the 
Senate to the draft Amendment to the Money Laundering Act of 
1995.  The earlier Senate changes had raised the reporting 
thresholds for customer identification and cash transactions 
to levels deemed unacceptable by the FATF. 
 
 
2.(SBU)  Abubakar claims that the harmonization committee 
approved the original language and reporting thresholds (USD 
5,000 or equivalent for customer identification and naira one 
million/five million for reporting of individual/corporate 
cash transactions) proposed by President Obasanjo in the 
draft bills submitted in October.   According to Abubakar, 
the full Senate is being recalled from recess for an 
emergency session on Saturday, December 14 to vote on the 
revised Senate legislation.  He expects the Senate to approve 
the revised legislation and pass it to the President for 
signature later in the day. 
 
 
3.(SBU) Announcements in local papers December 13 confirm 
Abubakar's statement of an extraordinary Senate session on 
December 14.  One such announcement in daily newspaper "This 
Day" reads:  "The Senate will reconvene tomorrow for a 
special session to discuss various issues of national 
importance.  According to a statement signed by the Clerk of 
the Senate yesterday, Senators are expected to assemble for 
the special session at 10 a.m. The Senate which began its end 
of year recess is expected to reconvene end of January." 
 
 
4.(SBU) Comment:  We will monitor the progress of the Senate 
special session and seek to obtain copies of the final 
legislation as soon as it is produced.  These will be faxed 
immediately to INL, AF and Treasury for analysis.  The 
Executive and Legislative branches are working together 
closely (a rarity) to meet Nigeria's international 
obligations.  Wednesday's and tomorrow's emergency, 
recess-breaking sessions of the House and Senate are a 
remarkable sign of the seriousness with which the Government 
is taking the threat of  FATF sanctions. 
 
 
5.(SBU)  With a yard from the goal line, we would hope that 
U.S. Treasury would refrain from making a public announcement 
on potential Patriot Act Section 311 special measures 
(accompanying the designation of Nigeria as a jurisdiction of 
"primary money laundering concern") until it has had time to 
analyze the legislation that may be enacted over the weekend 
or early next week. 
JETER