The EU steps up its response to fight money laundering and drug trafficking in West Africa
The European Union has launched a new project which will contribute to the fight against money laundering in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Cape Verde. The project will help law enforcement agencies to better investigate money laundering, and thereby fight organized crime. At the same time, it will increase regional cooperation among these countries which are part of the "Cocaine route", i.e. the route used by South American drug cartels to ship drugs into Europe.
Andris Piebalgs, Commissioner for Development said: "Drug trafficking is an international plague which needs to be addressed globally. This illegal trade provokes severe economic, social, political and public health consequences. In the European Union alone, 140 tonnes of cocaine are consumed each year. In affected West African countries, the massive money laundering, generated by these illegal profits, destabilizes whole economies, threatening both their development and their stability."
He added: "With this new project, we will provide training, technical support - to establish electronic databases or secure email for instance – to law enforcement agencies and foster cross-border exchanges among the public authorities."
For more information: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-230_en.htm
