Regulatory Alerts2015-07-02
UEMOA Council of Ministers Directive No. 02/2015 on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing
The Council of Ministers of the Union Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA) issued Directive No. 02/2015 to harmonize and strengthen regional frameworks for combating money laundering and terrorist financing across member states. The directive establishes comprehensive definitions for financial crimes, designates non-financial businesses and professions as obligated entities, and mandates a risk-based approach to customer due diligence, beneficial ownership identification, and transaction monitoring. It further requires member states to implement targeted asset freezing measures, enhance inter-agency cooperation with financial intelligence units, and align national legislation with international FATF standards and UN Security Council resolutions.