Protecting the integrity of the West African financial system
The Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) is a specialised institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Established in 2000 and based in Dakar, Senegal, it is responsible for strengthening the capacity of its Member States to prevent and combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
As a FATF-Style Regional Body and an Associate Member of the Financial Action Task Force, GIABA ensures that international standards are implemented in its 17 Member States, in West Africa as well as in Comoros and São Tomé and Príncipe.
- Mutual evaluation and follow-up
- Typologies and research
- Technical assistance and cooperation
Sound economies, safer societies
Compliant frameworks
We help Member States align their legal and institutional frameworks with the FATF Recommendations.
Stronger institutions
We build the capacity of national authorities and promote regional and international cooperation.
“A GIABA community protected against the proceeds of illicit activities and the financing of terrorist activities.”
International standards
Regional dialogue
Compliance assessment
Support for national frameworks
More than 25 years of regional action
GIABA was officially established as a specialised institution of ECOWAS by the Authority of Heads of State and Government in December 2000. It brings together the fifteen ECOWAS States and two States that are not ECOWAS members: the Union of the Comoros and São Tomé and Príncipe.
In Lomé, the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government adopts a protocol on the illicit circulation of small arms, cross-border crime, drug trafficking and money laundering, and decides to establish GIABA.
The GIABA Statutes are approved by the Authority of Heads of State and Government, paving the way for its operation.
The Government of Senegal offers to host GIABA: a first office is opened in Dakar.
A fully functional Secretariat is set up.
Appointment of an Administrative Secretary and a Deputy to head the institution; these positions later became those of Director General and Deputy Director General.
Revision of the Statutes to incorporate the mandate provided for by the FATF Standards.
Signature of the headquarters agreement between ECOWAS and the Government of Senegal, granting diplomatic immunity to GIABA and its professional staff.
Consolidation of GIABA’s missions and recognition as a FATF-Style Regional Body, giving it the legitimacy to carry out its activities with Member States.
GIABA becomes an Associate Member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
An institution serving its Member States
GIABA operates through four main organs: an Ad Hoc Ministerial Committee, made up of the three ministers responsible for Finance, Justice and the Interior or Security in each Member State; the Secretariat, based in Dakar (Senegal); the Technical Commission, made up of experts from the same ministries; and a network of National Correspondents. The functions of each organ are set out in the GIABA Statutes.
Mr Mam Cherno JALLOW
Director General
Appointed on 19 July 2026 by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government for a four-year term. In office since 1 September 2026.
Mr Mam Cherno JALLOW was appointed Director General of GIABA by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at its 69th Ordinary Session, held on 19 July 2026 in Lungi (Sierra Leone).
Born on 10 July 1966 in Banjul (The Gambia), he is a financial economist by training. He holds an MBA in Banking and Finance from the African Centre for Advanced Studies in Management (CESAG) in Dakar, with a specialisation in financial markets and corporate finance, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the International Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
An expert in anti-money laundering, he has more than thirty-five years of experience in the public and private sectors of his country and in sub-regional institutions, including sixteen years within the ECOWAS ecosystem. Before his appointment, he was Acting Director of Administration and Finance of GIABA (since January 2024), having previously led the institution’s strategic planning and resource mobilisation (2022-2023). He previously served as Head of Strategic Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in the Office of the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission (2019-2021), Head of Cooperation with Emerging and Developed Markets at the ECOWAS Commission (2015-2019) and Director General of the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FEWACCI, 2010-2015).
Fully bilingual in English and French, he was made a Member of the Order of the Republic of The Gambia (MRG) in 2010, in recognition of his contribution to the economic development of his country.
A network of committed observers
GIABA grants observer status to African and non-African States and to intergovernmental organisations that support its objectives and actions and apply for it. Those eligible include:
