PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE TRANSMISSION AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTION REPORTS – 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.
Transmission and Confidentiality of Suspicious Transaction Reports under the Anti-Money Laundering and Finance Terrorism Regime of Cameroon and CEMAC
- Form and Method of Transmission of Reports to the ANIF
Suspicious Transaction Reports must be submitted in writing. They must be transmitted to the ANIF by the natural and legal persons referred to in Articles 6 and 7 of the Regulations, by any means that leaves a written record. Reports made by telephone or electronically must be confirmed in writing within forty-eight (48) hours.
The reports must specify, as applicable:
1) The reasons why the transaction has already been executed;
2) The time limit within which the suspicious transaction must be executed.
The ANIF acknowledges receipt of the suspicious transaction report, unless the reporting entity notifies it otherwise.
- Confidentiality of the Suspicious Transaction Report
The suspicious transaction report referred to in Article 83 of the Regulations is confidential.
It is prohibited, under penalty of sanctions provided for in the provisions of the regulation, for the persons referred to in Articles 6 and 7 to disclose to the owner of the funds or the perpetrator of any transaction giving rise to a suspicious transaction report, or to any third party other than the supervisory authorities, professional bodies, and national representative bodies, the existence and content of a report made to the ANIF (National Financial Intelligence Unit) and to provide information on the action taken in response to said report.
The fact that the persons referred to in Article 6 of the regulation attempt to dissuade their client from engaging in illegal activity does not constitute a disclosure within the meaning of paragraph 2. The directors and employees of financial institutions may disclose to the judicial authorities or to police officers acting under delegation that information has been transmitted to the ANIF (National Financial Intelligence Unit) pursuant to the provisions of Article 83.
In this case, the judicial authorities or the police officers may request confirmation from the ANIF of the existence of said disclosure.
The referral of a case concerning money laundering or the financing of terrorism and proliferation to the judicial authorities results in the ANIF being divested of jurisdiction, unless the public prosecutor decides otherwise.