ADDITIONAL OBLIGATIONS OF DESIGNATED NON-FINANCIAL BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS IN CAMEROON – ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORISM FINANCING IN CAMEROON AND CEMAC
Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) constitutes the regulatory framework applicable in Cameroon for the purpose of preventing criminals from disguising the proceeds of criminal activity as legitimate funds and forestalling the financial support of terrorist organizations. In accordance with Law No. 01 /CEMAC/UMAC/CM of 11th April 2016, the two main concepts of this aspect are as follows:
- Money Laundering: Money laundering is the process by which funds derived from illegal activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, or organized crime are converted into ostensibly legitimate assets. The process typically proceeds through three distinct stages: placement, layering, and integration.
- Terrorist Financing: The raising, movement, and utilization of funds for the purpose of providing financial resources to terrorists or terrorist organizations.
How Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Works in Cameroon
- Customer Due Diligence (CDD)/KYC: Financial and regulated institutions are required to verify the identity of their customers, assess the associated risk levels, and ascertain the source of funds prior to the provision of any services.
- Transaction Monitoring: Advanced software systems and trained analysts monitor financial transactions for unusual patterns and large-sum transfers in order to detect and flag potential criminal activity.
- Reporting Obligations: COBAC Regulation R-2023/01 demands that reporting entities shall have internal policies and procedures, put together by management and approved by the board of directors, to manage and mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing in their business.
- Record Keeping: Obliged entities must retain all customer and transactional records for a minimum of 10 years.
Regulatory and Enforcement Bodies in Cameroon
- ANIF (National Financial Investigation Agency): The National Agency for Financial Investigation (ANIF) serves as Cameroon's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and is vested with the responsibility of receiving, investigating, and analysing Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs). Further details regarding its operational mandates may be accessed on the ANIF website.
- COBAC (Banking Commission of Central Africa): The regional body responsible for the regulation and supervision of credit institutions, with a mandate to enforce compliance with regional Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) directives. Further information regarding its prudential requirements may be found on the COBAC Portal.
- Obligations of Casinos and Gaming Establishments
Casinos and gaming establishments, including those in which the State holds interests, are required to:
1) Maintain regular accounting records and related documentation for ten (10) years, in accordance with the accounting principles defined by applicable legislation;
2) Verify the identity of players who purchase, bring, or exchange chips or tokens for an amount equal to or greater than 1,000,000 (one million) CFA francs by requiring the presentation of a valid original official document bearing a photograph, of which a photocopy is made.
3) Record, in chronological order, all transactions referred to in paragraph 2 above, their nature and amount, including the names of the players and the document number presented, in a register and keep this register for ten (10) years after the last recorded transaction;
4) Record, in chronological order, all transfers of funds made between casinos and gaming clubs in a register and keep said register for ten (10) years after the last recorded transaction.
If the gaming establishment is owned by a legal entity with several subsidiaries, the tokens must identify the subsidiary for which they are issued. Under no circumstances may tokens issued by one subsidiary be redeemed at another subsidiary, including those located abroad.
- Specific Obligations for Real Estate Transactions
Persons who carry out, supervise, or advise on real estate transactions are required to identify the parties in accordance with the provisions of Articles 30 and 31 of the Regulation when they are involved in transactions involving the purchase or sale of real estate.
The persons referred to in paragraph 1 above and Article 49 of the regulation shall ensure that payments related to real estate purchase transactions are made in accordance with the provisions of Article 17 of the Regulation.
- Specific Obligations for Lawyers, Notaries, and Other Independent Legal and Accounting Professionals
Lawyers, notaries, chartered accountants, and other independent legal and accounting professionals must observe the client due diligence obligations defined in Articles 21 to 25 of the Regulations when preparing or carrying out transactions for their clients concerning the following activities:
a) Purchase and sale of real estate;
b) Management of the client's capital, securities, or other assets;
c) Management of bank, savings, or securities accounts;
d) Organization of contributions for the creation, operation, or management of companies;
e) Creation, operation, or administration of legal entities or legal structures, and purchase and sale of business entities.
- Specific Obligations for Dealers in Precious Stones or Metals
Dealers in precious stones and/or metals are required to comply with the obligations relating to customer identification when they conduct a cash transaction with a customer equal to or exceeding the threshold set by the national authority or, failing that, by the Ministerial Committee.
- Specific Obligations for Service Providers to Trusts and Companies
The customer obligations defined in Section I of the regulation apply to service providers to trusts and companies when they prepare or carry out transactions for a client in connection with one of the following activities:
a) They act as an agent for the incorporation of a legal entity;
b) They act (or arrange for another person to act) as an officer or general secretary of a corporation, a partner of a partnership, or hold a similar office for other types of legal entities;
c) They provide a registered office, business address or premises, an administrative or postal address to a corporation, a partnership, or any other legal entity or arrangement;
d) They act (or arrange for another person to act) as a trustee of an express trust or hold an equivalent office for another form of legal arrangement;
e) They act (or arrange for another person to act) as a shareholder acting on behalf of another person