Lead for Financial Crimes and Anti Money Laundering at e-Crime Bureau, Eric Kwaku Mensah, says conversations and efforts towards building a robust financial sector must take cognizance of effective cybercrime management.

He added that without urgent attention, innovations in the financial sector stand the risk of not meeting their target. To this end, he advised sector players to collaborate with Law enforcement agencies to share information and coordinate efforts to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.

“Enforcing regulations and directives issued to the industry and also providing training and guidance to financial institutions as well, he said will help them identify and prevent financial crimes.

“Continually monitoring developments in the space to enhance regulations; investing in cybersecurity and financial crimes management; and adhering to industry regulations and guidelines,” are also key measures he advised the landscape to adopt.

He added that organizations must develop effective fraud risk management programme and establish a strong security posture (firewalls, anti-virus software, encryption, and multi-factor authentication) for safety.

Given that more than USD 4.7 trillion is lost annually to occupational fraud worldwide, he urged organizations to perform thorough background checks on staff and contractors while using an intelligence approach to stay proactive.