Horn of Africa: First Gold Certified Trainers in anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism speak about their experience

The Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML CFT) Gold Certified Trainers programme provides technical trainings for members of Financial Intelligence Units, Law Enforcement Agencies, Prosecutors, Judiciary, Asset Recovery, Intelligence and Regulatory Bodies from the Great Horn of Africa region. After robust evaluation procedures, the programme granted over 50 silver certificates, 40 bronze certificates and 13 full Gold Certified Trainers Certificates. In total, the programme has trained more than 140 people.

Gold Certified Trainers will build a pool of regional experts to serve as trainers in their respective institutions and fields in their country and at regional/international level. The programme also aims to build a regional hub of experts through regional information exchange forums to strengthen sustainable regional capacity and promote informal network among these Gold Certified Trainers. A Training of Trainers Refresher and Upgrading course is also available, in order to provide previous participants that have not attained the full Gold Certificate the possibility to do so.

This training course is part of the “Disrupting criminal trafficking and smuggling networks through increased anti-money laundering and financial investigation capacity in the Greater Horn of Africa” (AML/THB), a regional programme funded by the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF). This programme aims to improve investigation methods used against cross-border criminal organizations and disrupt criminal activities that profit from irregular migration, human trafficking and other types of organized crime.

Gold Certified Trainers participant feedback

Viola Ocharo Civil litigation and Asset Recovery, Attorney, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission – Kenya

"I am a lawyer by training and currently an employee of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission as an attorney undertaking civil litigation and asset recovery in relation to corruption and economic crimes. I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this programme. The programme was a memorable learning experience – it enhanced my knowledge, skills and exposure to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism issues in and beyond the region.

The programme offers unique benefits because of its personalised development plans, which then hold each participant accountable. These plans also invited the participants to engage in useful introspection, which is not usually included in training programmes – and this for me was an especially valuable approach that enhanced the whole experience.

In addition, the programme has effectively expanded my professional network of relevant role-players in anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism in the region, and has been useful in my work engagements and deliverables. It provided a professional platform for peer-to-peer review, which allowed for information sharing and knowledge acquisition. My perception and understanding of the important role of information exchange was positively enhanced, and the knowledge I acquired is invaluable to my expertise and future endeavours.

Crucially, the programme has had a positive impact on my confidence as I was able to realistically assess my considerable knowledge of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism matters, specifically asset recovery.
Thank you for this invaluable and awesome experience."

Fatma Ayoub Simba Advocate of the High Court and Subordinate Courts and Director of Legal Affairs and Enforcement Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA) – Tanzania

"My experience with this programme was very positive because the training was well-structured with adequate content and resources, both financial and human (the presenters). The venues for the training were comfortable and allowed participants to concentrate in a relaxed environment. The resource people were experienced and conversant with the topics/subjects. Other logistics, including travel, departure and sightseeing, were all excellent. The sponsors and the whole AML/CFT ToT team are highly commended for being able to conduct the training with such a level of efficiency.

Overall, the AML/CFT training enhanced and increased my analytical and operational capacities on financial investigation and anti-money laundering techniques, and helped me to coordinate and collaborate more with other institutions, domestically and internationally. The training also improved my ability to make presentations.

The alternative (virtual) information exchange process adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is commended, showing how the AML-THB programme can adjust and adapt to the changing times. The project team urged us to continue using virtual online communication to stay in touch with partners and thus ensure continuity of the programme and its objectives.

Future perspectives of the expertise obtained from this certification include teaching anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism topics in the industry and participating in research on these topics, as well as on trafficking in human beings, and their impact on capital markets."