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.
- Exemption from Liability for Good-Faith Reports of Suspicions
Persons, or the officers and agents of the persons referred to in Articles 6 and 7, who, in good faith, have transmitted information or made any report, in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations, are exempt from all criminal prosecution.
No civil or criminal liability action may be brought, nor may any professional sanction be imposed, against the persons, or the officers, agents, and employees of the persons referred to in Articles 6 and 7 of the Regulations, who have acted under the same conditions as those provided for in the first paragraph above, even if court decisions rendered on the basis of the reports referred to in said paragraph have not resulted in any conviction. Furthermore, no civil or criminal liability action may be brought against the persons referred to in the preceding paragraph for material or moral damages that may result from the blocking of a transaction pursuant to the provisions of Article 74 of the Regulations.
- Exemption from liability for the execution of certain transactions
When a suspicious transaction has been executed, and except in cases of fraudulent collusion with the perpetrator(s) of money laundering or the financing of terrorism and proliferation, the persons referred to in Articles 6 and 7, as well as their directors, agents, or employees, are exempt from all liability, and no criminal proceedings for money laundering or proliferation may be brought against them, provided that the suspicious transaction report was filed in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations. The same applies when one of the persons referred to in Articles 6 and 7 has carried out an operation at the request of the investigative services acting under the conditions provided for in Article 74 of the Regulation.
ON THE INVOCATION OF STATE LIABILITY
State Liability for Suspicious Transaction Reports Made in Good Faith and for Certain Transactions
The State is liable for any damage caused to persons arising directly from a suspicious transaction report made in good faith, but which nevertheless proves to be inaccurate.
The State is also liable when a person referred to in Articles 6 and 7 of the Regulation has carried out a transaction at the request of judicial authorities, State agents responsible for detecting and suppressing money laundering and terrorist and proliferation financing offenses, acting within the framework of a judicial procedure or the National Financial Intelligence Unit (NISU).