Regulatory Alerts2022-01-05
Regulation No. 02 on the Inseizability of Foreign Currency Accounts for Extractive Companies in CEMAC
The Ministers' Committee of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) has adopted Regulation No. 02 to grant unseizability status to foreign currency accounts held by resident extractive companies in CEMAC credit institutions, explicitly excluding transporters and subcontractors. This protection shields these accounts from seizure while permitting the Central Bank to execute automatic debits primarily against FCFA balances, and allows resident companies to formally waive the protection during operations. Credit institutions, COBAC, BEAC, and competent national authorities are jointly tasked with enforcing this framework to secure the repatriation of foreign currency assets, thereby strengthening CEMAC's foreign exchange reserves and ensuring the external stability of the common currency.