On November 17, 2023, a team from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) led by Dr. Amado De Andres, Regional Director for West and Central Africa, paid a courtesy call on the Executive Director of the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah and her management team.
The meeting’s goal was to expand existing relationships between the two organizations and to consider program potential in Ghana’s battle against money laundering, corruption, and other organized crimes.
In her introductory remarks, the Executive Director stated that EOCO has profited much from the UNODC.
She noted that the help had declined after COVID until recently, when EOCO benefitted from a series of Cyber Crime trainings.
This was followed by the provision of certain cutting-edge digital forensic technology to help EOCO and other Ghanaian law enforcement agencies improve their digital forensic skills. She was consequently overjoyed to have UNODC back on board.
Dr. Amado De Andre thanked Ghana for being a champion for a variety of reasons, making it easier for UNODC to continue collaborating.
He also stated that the UNODC would want to bolster Ghana’s law enforcement agencies in the field of asset recovery in order to position the nation as a formidable force in the battle against illicit financial flows.
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COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa reminded the delegation of EOCO’s responsibility as the lead in recovery and asset management for all Ghanaian law enforcement agencies. She said that the UNODC, as a pioneering organization in this field, may offer its help to EOCO.
Mr. Cheikh Toure, a member of the delegation and UNODC Regional Law Enforcement Advisor, underlined the significance of improving the confiscation, forfeiture, seizure, and asset recovery regimes since criminals have discovered highly inventive ways to hide their ill-gotten wealth.
He also emphasized the significance of establishing an integrated database of all law enforcement and partner institutions in Ghana to fill the gaps that criminals exploit.
COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah agreed with Mr. Cheikh Toure, adding that the ability of law enforcement agencies to keep data on all suspects in a unified national database would be very beneficial because it would make it easier to identify criminals who have engaged in further criminal activities and to notice emerging trends.
