The president of the Swiss National Bank, Jean-Pierre Roth, has called for a concerted global effort to tackle money laundering.

Roth said it was imperative that national banks did not become "places where, through lack of controls, one could launder drug money or the proceeds from crime".

The president of the SNB was speaking at a meeting in Dakar, Senegal, attended by fellow bank governors from French-speaking countries.

He recognised that there was a great deal of work to be done among countries which still lacked the necessary infrastructure to counter money laundering.

"It is also a major task in our own countries to make sure the necessary legislation is in place and then to apply it," he added.

Turning to the overall global economy, Roth said he believed the current slowdown would continue for several months, but the first signs of recovery would appear during the second half of the year.

He stressed that the global economy was going through a "delicate period" and was now in a "more fragile" position.

swissinfo with agencies

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