The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has announced the appointment of Mrs. Paula Santos Da Costa as the new Acting Director of the Office of Integrity and Anticorruption, effective January 14, 2021.
Ms. Paula Santos Da Costa, a national of Guinea Bissau, is a seasoned lawyer with more than twenty years of experience in ethics, compliance, fiscal law, banking, and money-laundering.
Paula is currently the Head of the Ethics Office at the African Development Bank where she has undertaken several actions to significantly sharpen and improve the Ethics ecosystem for the Bank.
Paula joined the African Development Bank in December 2010 as a Principal Ethics Training and Liaison Officer. She later served as Special Assistant to the Vice President, Corporate Services and Human Resources. In this capacity, she contributed to the initiation, development, and review of the Bank Group’s corporate policies, rules, regulations, processes, and standards.
Before joining the Bank, Paula worked at the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) as Lead and Coordinator of the Litigation Division from 2004 to 2010, where she helped to establish the litigation service in the Legal Affairs Directorate, developed a rating system for lawyers, as well as the legal status of the Anti-Money Laundering Control Cells of the West African Economic and Monetary Union.
Paula started her career in Portugal, serving in the Treasury Department, several commercial banks, and a private law firm, before joining the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Guinea-Bissau.
Paula holds a master’s degree in Fiscal Law (1998) from the Lisbon Institute of Economics and Management (ISTEC), Portugal, and a master’s degree in Private Law (1995) from Jean Moulin University in Lyon, France.
She also holds a post-graduate diploma in private law (1994) from Jean Monnet University in Saint-Etienne, France. She is a member of the Lisbon Bar Association, Portugal, and a certified anti-money laundering expert, a certification issued by the Central Bank of France.
Commenting on her appointment, Ms. Paula commended President Adesina for the appointment and pledged to work very hard to ensure transparency and to maintain high ethical standards within the Bank.
“I thank President Adesina for the confidence in me. The Office of Integrity and Anticorruption plays a crucial role in ensuring transparency, ethical standards, and anti-corruption in investments and forms an important part of the Bank’s good governance system. I will work diligently and faithfully to support and strengthen the independence, governance, and mandate of the Bank’s Integrity and Anti-corruption efforts”, Mrs. Paula Santos Da Costa said.
The President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Adesina believes Mrs. Da Costa will bring her experience to bear in her current position to ensure effective delivery of her duties.
“Paula is an accomplished lawyer with extensive knowledge and professional experience in fiscal law, private law, anti-money laundering, anti-corruption, and ethical standards. She will help to further strengthen our integrity and anti-corruption efforts. I am pleased she will step into this role as Acting Director of the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anticorruption until a substantive Director is appointed”, Dr. Adesina said.
