2025-09-04
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The Decree establishes the legal framework for countering the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the Lao PDR, defining key terms and designating reporting entities such as banks, virtual asset service providers, and lawyers. Reporting entities and postal enterprises are required to conduct ongoing customer due diligence, immediately withhold or freeze transactions involving designated persons, and report these actions to the Ministry of Public Security (MOPS) and the Anti-Money Laundering Intelligence Office (AMLIO). The MOPS must verify the association of seized or frozen funds with proliferation financing within thirty days, extendable to sixty or ninety days for complex or international cases, and lift measures if no association is found. The document also outlines procedures for listing and delisting entities based on United Nations Security Council resolutions and provides for legal remedies allowing access to frozen funds for basic or extraordinary expenses under specific conditions.
(Unofficial Translation) 1 Lao People’s Democratic Republic Peace Independence Democracy Unity Prosperity The Government No. 554/Gov. Vientiane Capital, dated: 04 September 2025 Decree on Countering the Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
The Government issues the Decree: Chapter 1 General Provisions Article 1 Objectives This Decree stipulates the principles, regulations, and measures concerning the management and supervision of activities related to countering the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, aiming to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of such work. This is intended to ensure social peace and order, strengthen and stabilize the economic and financial system, enable regional and international integration, and contribute to the national protection and development. Article 2 Countering the Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction The Countering the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction refers to the activities of individuals, legal person, and organizations responsible for identifying, combating, restricting, and suppressing the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Article 3 Definition
(Unofficial Translation) 2 2. Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction refers to the provision of funds or financial services, as well as the transfer, facilitation, intermediation, or brokerage of such funds or assets, that are, in whole or in part, intended to be used for the production, acquisition, development, export, transport, storage, or use of nuclear, chemical, biological, or radiological weapons, including related materials, technology, systems, and dual-use goods, in violation of the regulations of the Lao PDR and the international obligations under treaties and UNSC resolutions to which the Lao PDR is a party. 3. Funds to be suspended, withheld, seized or frozen means any money, financial assets, economic resources, or property of any kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, corporeal or incorporeal, and legal documents or instruments in any form, including electronic or digital forms, evidencing title to, or interest in, such funds or assets. This includes, but is not limited to, bank credits, traveler’s cheques, bank cheques, money orders, shares, securities, bonds, drafts, or letters of credit, as well as interest, dividends, or other income generated from such funds or assets, and any other assets that may be used to obtain funds, goods, or services. These funds or assets may be wholly or partially owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by any person or entity designated in relation to the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, by persons acting on their behalf or at their direction, or by entities owned or controlled by them, as set out in UNSC Resolutions 1718 (2006), 2231 (2015), and other relevant UNSC resolutions to which the Lao PDR is a party.” 4. Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) refers to weapons with high destructive power or capability, such as nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, biological weapons, radiological weapons, and other weapons that may be developed to have high destructive characteristics or effectiveness, in contravention of the regulations of the Lao PDR and treaties to which the Lao PDR is a party. 5. Nuclear Weapon means any explosive device capable of releasing uncontrolled nuclear energy, excluding its means of transport or delivery system, and excluding any delivery mechanism that is separable and not an integral component of the device itself, such as missiles, bomber aircraft, or submarines. 6. Chemical Weapons means weapons involving the aggregation or separation of toxic chemicals, precursors, explosive materials, or specifically designed equipment that causes death or severe harm due to the chemical properties or any equipment specifically designed for direct use with such chemical weapons. 7. Biological Weapons means toxins, biological agents, and microorganisms produced as biological weapons, which are not intended for disease prevention or national security purposes. 8. Radioactive Material means nuclear devices and radioactive substances that undergo spontaneous disintegration, such as alpha particles, beta particles, neutrons, and gamma rays, having radiological or fissile characteristics that result in death, serious injury, or significant damage to property or the environment.
(Unofficial Translation) 3 9. Toxic Chemical means any chemical substance that, through its chemical action on life processes, can cause death, temporary incapacitation, or permanent harm to humans or animals, regardless of its origin or method of production, wherever it may be. 10. Reporting Entity means legal entities and individuals with responsibilities in implementing countering the financing of WMD proliferation, including commercial banks, microfinance institutions, pawn shops, leasing companies, payment service providers, insurance companies, securities companies, investment fund management companies, investment funds, virtual asset service providers (VASPs), re al estate businesses, precious metals and stones dealers, accounting firms, auditing firms, casino businesses, law firms, and lawyers. 11. Transaction means all activities involving financial movement for their customers, such as buying, selling, or paying for services, depositing, withdrawing, remitting, or transferring related to banking, insurance, securities, precious metals, virtual assets, including customer services such as postal enterprises, accounting firms, auditing firms, law firms, lawyers, pawn shops, leasing companies, payment service providers, investment fund management companies, investment funds, real estate businesses, and casino businesses. 12. Seizure means taking custody of funds of individuals, legal entities, organizations, or groups listed as involved in the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, upon order of the relevant authorities of the Ministry of Public Security (MOPS). 13. Freezing means prohibiting the purchase, sale, transfer, exchange, pledging, mortgaging, guaranteeing, adding to, destroying, altering, moving, or otherwise dealing with funds, whether movable or immovable assets, of individuals, legal entities, organizations, or groups listed as involved in the financing of WMD proliferation, upon order of the relevant authorities of the MOPS. 14. The National Coordination Committee for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (NCC) refers to an ad hoc body established by appointment of the Prime Minister, composed of: the Deputy Prime Minister as Chairperson; the Governor of the Bank of the Lao PDR as Deputy Chairperson and Standing Member; Deputy Ministers or Deputy Heads of relevant organizations as Deputy Chairpersons; and other appointed members. The Anti-Money Laundering Intelligence Office (AMLIO) serves as the Secretariat. Article 4 State Policy on Countering the Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction The State shall encourage, promote, create favorable conditions, and facilitate activities to counter the financing of the WMD proliferation by providing budgetary support, personnel, vehicles, equipment, and modern technology to the competent authorities responsible for implementing counter-proliferation financing measures.
(Unofficial Translation) 4 The State shall also encourage and promote the participation of individuals, legal persons, and all sectors in activities aimed at countering the financing of the WMD proliferation. Article 5 Principles of Countering the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Activities to counter the financing of the WMD proliferation shall be carried out in accordance with the following principles:
(Unofficial Translation) 5 Chapter 2 Withholding, Seizing, or Freezing Funds of Designated Persons and Entities Associated with the Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Article 10 Withholding or Suspension Reporting entities and postal enterprises shall conduct ongoing customer due diligence in relation to transactions and services, whether completed or attempted but not successfully executed. In conducting customer due diligence, postal enterprises may also review postal deposits suspected to be related to designated persons or entities associated with the financing of WMD proliferation. In cases of attempted transactions that are not completed, if funds or other assets are detected or identified as belonging to, or associated with, any natural persons, legal person, organization or group of people listed as designated persons and entities associated with the financing of WMD proliferation, the reporting entities and postal enterprises must withhold or suspend the transaction without prior notice to the customer and immediately report to the MOPS and AMLIO. In cases where a transaction has been completed, and funds are subsequently detected or identified as belonging to, owned, or controlled by, or otherwise associated with, any natural person, legal person, organization, or group designated for or associated with the financing of WMD proliferation, the reporting entities and postal enterprises must immediately withhold or freeze such funds to prevent their movement, transfer, or use, without prior notice to the customer, and must promptly report the action taken to the MOPS and AMLIO. Article 11 Seizure and Freezing Upon receipt of a report from reporting entities and postal enterprises, the MOPS shall issue an order on seizing or freezing funds or other assets of designated persons and entities associated with the financing of WMD proliferation immediately. Funds or other assets that have been seized or frozen shall be preserved until the order of seizure and freezing is lifted, or amended, in accordance with the provisions set forth in Article 15 of this Decree. Article 12 Procedures Following Seizure or Freezing of Funds. Following the issuance of an order on seizing or freezing funds, the MOPS shall promptly undertake the collection of information and evidence to determine whether the suspected person and the funds concerned are associated with, or not associated with, WMD proliferation financing. Such verification must be completed within thirty days. Where the collection of information and evidence involves multiple parties or is complex, this period may be extended for an additional thirty days. In cases where the collection of information and evidence requires cooperation with foreign jurisdictions, the verification must be completed within ninety days.
(Unofficial Translation) 6 If it is established that the funds are not associated with the designated list for proliferation, or where the UNSC removes the name of the owner of the funds from the list of designated persons and entities, the order of seizure or freezing of funds shall be immediately lifted. The MOPS shall notify the relevant reporting entities, postal enterprises, natural persons, legal person, organization or group of people concerned of the lifting of the administrative measures and shall ensure the prompt return of the funds or other assets without delay. Article 13 Reporting of Transactions or Activities of Designated Persons and Entities Associated with the Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Natural persons, legal person or organization that encounter any transaction or activity of natural persons, legal persons, organizations or groups of people associated with list of proliferation financing must immediately report such activities to the AMLIO or the MOPS to tenably take appropriate action and apply measures to freeze such transactions or activities. If reporting entities suspect a transaction, service or customer of being a designated person, entity or otherwise linked to the financing of WMD proliferation, they must immediately file a suspicious transaction report to the AMLIO. For postal enterprises, such reports must be submitted without delay to the relevant authority of the MOPS. Article 14 Screening and Verification of Potential False Positive Match Reporting entities, postal enterprises, and other relevant parties must conduct screening and verification of information relating to natural persons, legal persons, organization or groups of people whose names are identical or similar to those of persons or entities designated on the list relating to proliferation financing. This includes verifying identifiers such as name, surname, date of birth, and other identification documents, on an ongoing basis, to ensure that such persons are not involved in financing of WMD proliferation activities. In cases where reporting entities, postal enterprises, or other relevant parties are unable to confirm whether a natural persons, legal persons, organizations or group of people with an identical or similar name is in fact a designated person or entity, they must refer the matter to the MOPS and AMLIO for verification immediately. Upon confirmation that the person or entity is only a false positive and not the designated person, reporting entities, postal enterprises, and other relevant parties must immediately lift any suspension or withholding measures applied to the funds.
(Unofficial Translation) 7 Chapter 3 Measures to Mitigate the Consequences of Withholding, Seizing or Freezing Funds with respect to Natural Persons, Legal Persons, and Organizations or Groups of People Article 15 Legal Remedies and Redress for the Consequences of Freezing and Seizing Funds. Natural persons, legal persons, and organizations designated on the list relating to the financing of the proliferation, who are affected by the freezing or seizure on their funds shall have the right to submit a petition or request to the MOPS for review and consideration of redress. The remedying of consequences from the seizing or freezing of funds in accordance with the UNSC List shall be carried out as follows:
(Unofficial Translation) 8
The consideration of exemptions under Resolution 1718 (2006) and Resolution 2231 (2015) shall be implemented according to the decisions of the respective committees of the UNSC for these resolutions, whether favorable or not. Article 16 Frozen or Seized Funds without Intent Declaration Funds that have been seized or frozen where the owner or beneficiary fails to express intent regarding the seizure or freezing of said funds, the relevant authorities of the MOPS shall coordinate with the relevant parties/sectors to proceed with and review the matter in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Lao PDR. Chapter 4 Requesting for Listing and De-listing on the Designation List Article 17 Designation List Designation List refers to the list of natural persons, legal persons, or organization or group of people associated with financing of the WMD proliferation, as designated by the UNSC under UNSC resolutions such as Resolution 1718 (2006), 2231 (2015), and any successor/relevant resolutions. Article 18 Requesting for Listing or De-listing on Designation List The MOPS is in charge of investigating the information and evidence related to natural persons, legal persons, organization, or groups proposed for listing or de-listing from UNSC List, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC), AMLIO, relevant ministries and organizations, based on the basic information and the criteria for designation as specified in the resolution of the United Nations Security Council and Financial Action Task Force, details as bellow:
(Unofficial Translation) 9 3. Natural persons, legal persons or organizations or groups of people who have acted on behalf of or at the direction of natural persons, legal persons or organizations or groups of people specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article; 4. Natural persons, legal persons or organizations or groups of people who are owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by natural persons, legal persons or organizations or groups of people specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article; 5. Natural persons, legal persons or organizations or groups of people who have assisted in the evasion of sanctions or in the violation of the provisions of resolutions 1718 (2006) and 1874 (2009); 6. Natural persons, legal persons or organizations or groups of people who have provided support for projects or activities prohibited by the relevant resolutions or have circumvented the provisions of the resolutions; 7. Natural persons, legal persons or organizations or groups of people who are involved in, directly associated with or provide support for nuclear proliferation activities or are involved in the procurement of prohibited items, such as items, goods, equipment, materials and technology specified in the relevant UNSCRs; 8. Natural persons, legal persons or organizations or groups of people who have provided assistance to natural persons, legal persons or organizations or groups of people as specified in the list in evading or acting contrary to the provisions of the UNSCRs; 9. Any natural person, legal person or organizations or groups of people acting on behalf of or at the direction of any natural person, legal person, organization or group of people specified in paragraphs 7 and 8 of this Article or any natural persons, legal persons or organizations or groups of people who owns or controls such person. After consideration, it found there is evidentiary standard or reasonable grounds whether such a natural person, legal person, organization or group of people have or have not engaged in behaviors or activities related to financing the WMD proliferation, the MOPS shall propose to the MOFA to submit the requesting to the UNSC for consideration. Article 19 Requesting to the United Nations Security Council The MOFA shall propose the de-listing of natural person, legal person and organizations or groups of people that have not engaged in behaviors or activities related to financing the WMD proliferation, to the UNSC, using the standard forms specified by the UNSC through the United Nations Office of the Ombudsperson. In addition, the MOPS shall also inform natural persons, legal persons, organizations or groups of people listed by the UNSC, of their rights and details of procedures for submitting a delisting request as well as the availability of the United Nations Office of the Ombudsperson. Article 20 Communicating of the United Nations Security Council List After the MOFA receives the list from the UNSC, it is not necessary to conduct further investigation or consideration, but it shall immediately communicate such list to the MOPS, Ministry of Technology and Communications (MTC), MOIC and AMLIO. The MOPS, MTC, MOIC and AMLIO shall notify the United Nations Security Council List to Lao PDR entry and exit check points, reporting entities, postal enterprises, and relevant parties so that suspend transactions or services and withhold funds, and shall propose to the
(Unofficial Translation) 10 MOPS to issue an Order to seize or freeze such funds related to the listed persons or those financing the WMD proliferation within twenty-four (24) hours after the UNSC approves or updates the list. The updated list shall be published immediately through the government website or the website of the relevant organization. The MOPS, MTC, MOIC, AMLIO, reporting entities, postal enterprises, natural persons, legal persons, organizations, and other relevant parties may access the UNSC List through the electronic system and other available channels. Chapter 5 Prohibitions Article 21 General Prohibitions Natural persons, legal persons and organisations are prohibited from the following behaviors:
(Unofficial Translation) 11 2. Dealing with banks in countries that do not have laws or regulations regarding the countering the financing of the WMD proliferation. 3. Conducting business or transactions with natural person, legal persons, organisations or group people listed on list of financing of the WMD proliferation. 4. Bribery of the relevant staff or officer concerned or acting as an intermediary therein. 5. Other activities that contravene laws and regulations. Article 23 Prohibitions for relevant staffs and authorities The relevant staffs and authorities are prohibited from the following behaviors:
(Unofficial Translation) 12 5. Supervise, promote, manage, and monitor the implementation of work to counter the financing of WMD proliferation by relevant organizations; 6. Supervise the training and upgrading of personnel working on countering the financing of WMD proliferation by relevant organizations; 7. Appoint a subcommittee to coordinate and implement work on countering the financing of WMD proliferation; 8. Designate reporting units; 9. Supervise coordination and cooperation with foreign countries both regionally and internationally on countering the financing of WMD proliferation; 10. Summarize and report its implementation work to the government regularly; 11. Utilize other rights and implement other duties as prescribed by law and as assigned by the government. Article 26 Rights and Duties of the Ministry of Public Security MOPS has rights and duties with supervising and inspecting activities on countering the financing of WMD proliferation, as the followings:
(Unofficial Translation) 13 Article 27 Rights and Duties of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs MOFA has rights and duties with supervising and inspecting works on countering the financing of WMD proliferation, as the followings:
(Unofficial Translation) 14 Article 30 Rights and Duties of the Anti-Money Laundering Intelligence Office AMLIO has rights and duties with supervising and inspecting works on countering the financing of WMD proliferation, as the followings:
(Unofficial Translation) 15 Chapter 7 Policies for Outstanding Achievers and Penalties for Violators Article 34 Policies for Outstanding Achievers Natural person, legal persons and organizations making outstanding achievements in their implementation and enforcement of this this decree will be commended or benefit from the policies in accordance with laws and regulations. Article 35 Penalties for Violators Natural person, legal persons and organizations violating this decree shall be warnings, educated, disciplined, fined, compensatory damages, and/or criminal punishment, depending on the severity of the case. Chapter 8 Final Provisions Article 36 Implementation The Bank of the Lao PDR is responsible for organizing and implementing this decree effectively and efficiently. Ministries, organisations, local government, and other relevant are to recognise and strict implementation of this decree. Article 37 Entry into Force This Decree enters into force on date of 04 November 2025. Government of the Lao PDR The Prime Minister (Signature and Seal) Sonexay SIPHANDONE