Global Access Ends Training for Staff

GASL manager with intructors

By William Yaw Owusu

Accra, Tuesday August 21, 2012

Global Access Savings and Loans (GASL) has ended a five-day programme aimed at training the company’s management and staff to detect fraud in their operations.

The programme was held by Quest Service Limited, a risk management centre, that has trained over 1,500 personnel in the banking and financial sector.

According to Richard Kumadoe, a fraud management consultant, money laundering has become a sophisticated business and it needs well-trained people in the sector to tackle it.

“The truth is that technology has come with all kinds of gadgets and criminals are taking advantage of the situation to perpetrate crime. The banking and financial sectors have to be positioned to withstand fraud.”

He said the operators in the sector must coordinate their efforts to check incidence of money laundering, terrorists financing and other suspicious transactions, adding “we should help to make Ghana and the sub-region a safe haven for financial malfeasance.”

Ama Amoah, Marketing and Public Relations Manager of GASL, said the company was determined to provide its staff with relevant skills and techniques in detecting and reporting what she termed unusual and suspicious transactions that expose the bank to financial loss, increased expenses or reputational risks.

She said the training of the staff also forms part of efforts to assist the bank to “assess the appropriateness and comprehensiveness of the bank’s customer due diligence policies, procedures and practices.”

“We want to provide our staff with the technical know-how in adapting the risk-based approach in the risk assessment processes of specific products, services, customers, entities and geographical locations unique to the bank.”

Ms. Amoah said GASL was determined to build what she called “a bank-wide control environment that adheres to safe and sound practices with regard to the bank’s compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.”

GASL is the second most patronized money transfer services provider with products including Western Union, Vigo, Money gramm and Sika ye mogya.

Currently they have 14 branches in Accra, Kumasi and intend to expand to other areas of the country by next year.

Ms. Amoah said GASL intend to become a universal bank in five years’ time, stressing that they were putting the necessary measures in place to get there.