MONROVIA – Liberia’s second National Risk Assessment will test whether the country can identify financial crimes before they deepen institutional and economic vulnerabilities. Specialized working groups will collect nationwide data from September through November 2026 on money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. The exercise comes seven years after Liberia’s first assessment and must account for new technologies and increasingly sophisticated criminal methods. Financial Intelligence Agency Officer-in-Charge Mohammed Ali Nasser will coordinate the process through the National Steering Committee. The assessment matters because sound regulation and enforcement must rest on credible evidence rather than assumptions. As THE ANALYST reports, its final value will depend on accurate data, national ownership and whether national institutions use the findings to make practical, risk-based decisions.
MONROVIA: Liberia’s specialized working groups conducting the Second Round National Risk Assessment (NRA-2) are expected to embark on nationwide data collection to gather critical information on money laundering and terrorist financing. The exercise forms part of the country’s second assessment of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing risks.
The nationwide data-collection exercise is scheduled to run from September through November 2026. It is intended to strengthen Liberia’s defenses against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
The assessment will also address emerging risks associated with new technologies and increasingly sophisticated criminal methods. According to research by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), those developments have influenced Liberia’s financial environment since its first National Risk Assessment in 2019.
Nasser Leads National Assessment
The Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee (IMC), the policy arm of Liberia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, has designated Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) Officer-in-Charge Mohammed Ali Nasser as chairperson of the National Steering Committee. Nasser will work with other competent authorities and relevant stakeholders to conduct the country’s second risk assessment.
The National Steering Committee has responsibility for coordinating the NRA-2 process across Liberia. It will also present evidence-based reports through the IMC to GIABA.
The assessment will focus on three pillars during the data-collection exercise: national ownership, sustainable capacity and actionable results. The approach is intended to ensure that the final NRA report serves as a “living document” and strategic guide for public policy.
The assessment is also expected to empower institutions to make risk-based decisions. Its findings will help participating authorities understand the country’s financial-crime threats and determine the appropriate institutional responses.
Workshop Prepared National Stakeholders
GIABA, in collaboration with the Financial Intelligence Agency, conducted a five-day pre-risk assessment workshop in Monrovia as part of efforts to strengthen Liberia’s defenses against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. The workshop was held from March 23 to 27, 2026.
It brought together stakeholders from Liberia’s public and private sectors. The workshop was intended to help participants identify, assess and understand risks within the country’s AML/CFT regime.
Participants came from competent authorities, including the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), Financial Intelligence Agency, Ministry of Justice, Liberia National Police (LNP) and Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA). Representatives also attended from the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Ministry of Mines and Energy, Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), and Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI), among other institutions.
The participants were organized into 10 specialized working groups. Those groups will now support the conduct of the second National Risk Assessment, beginning with the nationwide data-collection exercise.
Data Collection Begins Shortly
Following the pre-risk assessment workshop, Liberia is preparing to conduct NRA-2 through the specialized working groups. The nationwide data-collection exercise is expected to begin shortly.
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 1 mandates jurisdictions to identify, assess and understand their money laundering and terrorist financing risks. Liberia’s second assessment is being conducted within that international framework.
Enumerators assigned to the data-collection exercise were previously trained to use the KoboCollect software. The training was intended to support real-time and consistent data gathering across major AML/CFT sectors.
The software can operate online and offline. It is expected to improve questionnaire administration and promote data consistency across the participating institutions.