Editorial: Curbing terrorism financing; Gov't should go beyond mobile money service providers.

In a panic bid to cut off what the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atang Nji, referred to as "terrorism financing", the government official summoned top officials of the two companies to his office, this week, and gave them 60 days to ensure such illicit transfers do not pass through their services.

At the meeting, also attended by the Director General of the National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies, ANTIC, Prof Ebot Ebot Enaw, the minister reminded the telecoms operators of their responsibility to identify their subscribers in conformity with the regulations in force.

The use of unidentified SIM cards in the country, the member of government insisted, is a violation of the law. He warned them to be able to provide detailed information on subscribers in the two restive English-speaking Regions.

He added that the identification of their subscribers in these troubled Regions, would greatly help to block routes used to circulate money to terrorists.

There are reports that investigations carried, revealed that SIM cards used for such illicit operations are not identified. The findings also revealed that the sub-subscriptions to such SIM cards are done with fake names.

Minister Atanga Nji told the top executives of MTN Cameroon and Orange Cameroun, that the war economy cannot be used to jeopardise State security.

“Our mission is to protect people and their properties and that security must return to the North West, South West and Far North Regions,” he told the telecoms officials.

Atanga Nji expressed regret that most platforms run by the two companies “are not controlled.”

He said most personnel of the two companies “are still behaving like criminals…how can you give 30 SIM cards to a group of terrorists, knowing that they will use it to intimidate, send messages to people...?” he questioned.

“So, you have to help us to help you. If your customers cannot be identified, then they have no business with you, not to talk of the terrorists who are in the bushes,” he stated.

The Guardian Post does not hold brief for the operators who can, however, not be exonerated for some of the charges the minister flung at them.

What is, however, without quibble, is that some of the illicit operations, done through mobile money services, are beyond the operators to control.

There have been reported cases where Amba vandals kidnap people and use the mobile money phones of their victims to carry out their operations while the victims are still in their captivity.

There is a case of one of our senior editors, who went to register a second number and realised two of his remaining slots were being used for MoMo transactions, by criminals. 

Chances are that the unidentified individuals might have used his national identity card photocopy to register the two MoMo numbers, which he had to go to the operators to block.

His case certainly may not be an isolated one. Innocent people could fall victims, especially as photocopies of people's identity cards are demanded during numerous services, including banking.

What is the guarantee that some of those officials demanding the document may not be colluding with criminals to use the identification document for unlawful purposes, thus implicating innocent citizens?

That is why the mobile money operators must ensure that photographs of their potential clients are taken before they are issued SIM cards, not in the cacophonic practices where their sales agents roam the streets just photocopying peoples' identity cards to register a SIM. What if those presenting the identities are not the owners?

Mobile money criminality, as has been reported by the International Police Organisation, is being exploited by organised crime groups, a trend only set to increase as the service is rolled out across the continent.

Its report, titled: “Mobile money and organised crime in Africa”, notes that the criminal exploitation of mobile money services, not only for terrorism financing but for other crimes, include fraud, money laundering, extortion, human trafficking, people smuggling and illegal wildlife trade.

The African continent is the “world leader” in the mobile money industry, accounting for nearly half of all registered mobile money accounts globally, according to the report

The prominent role that mobile money plays in Cameroon and other African societies and economies, and the rapid pace at which its infrastructure has been developed, has enabled criminals to “exploit weaknesses in regulations and identification systems,” to commit mobile money-enabled crimes.

According to the Bank of Central African States, BEAC, there were 37 million mobile money accounts by 2022 in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) market, with Cameroon alone accounting for more than half of the community market.

As International Police noted: “The anonymity that these services too often allow and the technical nature of the industry also present a challenge to law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting these crimes.”

The lack of robust identity checks to verify users as outlined by MINAT, also requires not just an assignment to MTN and Orange. 

Government has a duty, to provide for sufficient law enforcement resources and training on mobile money-enabled crimes that have emerged in Cameroon's financial system that is distinctly vulnerable to criminal infiltration by reparative fighters.