We are honored to have taken part in the signing and launch ceremony of Zambia’s National Curriculum of Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery for Law Enforcement Agencies, which took place at the National Prosecution Authority offices in Lusaka.
Presiding over the ceremony was Zambia’s Director of Public Prosecution, Mr Gilbert A. Phiri. Also present were other high-ranking government officials including the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Graphel Musamba, the Director General of the Drug Enforcement Commission, Mr. Nason Banda as well as representatives of The Attorney General, the Governor of the Bank of Zambia, the Director General of the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Commissioner General of the Zambia Revenue Authority, the Director General of the Financial Intelligence Centre, the Director General of Immigration Department, the Director of the National Anti-Terrorism Centre among many others.
Representing the European Union at the ceremony was Ms Patricia Kapolyo, who is the head of the Access to Justice department at the EU Delegation to Zambia. Also present for the EU and the AML-CFT ESCAY Project was our team leader Frédéric BAYARD and senior technical advisor, Alma Wanyama.
In his speech, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Gilbert A. Phiri said, ‘The launch of this Curriculum represents a significant milestone in standardizing the local curricula for financial investigation trainings amongst law enforcement agencies and aligning the same with international best practices. Additionally, the launch re-echoes the significance that the Inter-Agency National Task Force places on the role that financial investigations play in combating and tackling illicit financial flows and the recovery of the proceeds of crime’
He thanked the European Union for its support in developing the curriculum and looked forward to more collaborations with the EU in the future.
Ms Patricia Kapolyo reiterated the European Union‘s commitment and plans to continue supporting not only Zambia but Africa as a whole in combating illicit financial flows. She announced to the meeting the upcoming EU-funded continent-wide project, starting in a few months’ time, which will carry on the work started by AML CFT ESCAY Project to support African countries to fight organised crime, IFFs and the financing of terrorism.
