President Buhari Sends First 2 Exclusive Bills To Senate On Money Laundering, Criminal Activities

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday,
January 27, 2016 sent his first two executive
bills to the Senate. seeking to prohibit money
laundering and criminal activities in the
country.
The bills are titled ”The Money
Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill,
2016″ and “The Mutual Legal Assistance in
Criminal Matters Bill, 2016.”
Buhari, in a letter to the the Senate and
addresed to the Senate President, Dr Bukola
Saraki, said he was introducing the bills for
formal consideration and enactment into law by
the legislature. In the letter read by Saraki,
during plenary, Buhari informed that the first
bill provides for the repeal of Money Laundering
(Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012.
He explained that the bill would “make
comprehensive provisions to prohibit the
laundering of criminal activities, expand the
scope of money laundering, and provide
protection for employees of various institutions,
bodies and professions who may discover
money laundering”.
On the second bill, President Buhari said it
“seeks to facilitate the provision and obtaining
by Nigeria of international assistance in
criminal matters.”
These, he stressed, include the provision and
obtaining of evidence and things, and the
making of arrangements for persons to give
evidence or assist in criminal investigations.
He further stated that the bill seeks “the
recovery, forfeiture or confiscation of property
in respect of offences, the restraining of
dealings in property or the freezing of assets
that may be recovered, forfeited or confiscated
in respect of offences.”