Regulation No. 01/03-CEMAC-UMAC of April 4, 2003 on the Prevention and Repression of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Central Africa

COMMUNITY OF ECONOMIC AND MONETARY STATES OF CENTRAL AFRICA

CENTRAL AFRICAN MONETARY UNION

MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE

REGULATION NO. 01/03-CEMAC-UMAC- ON THE PREVENTION AND REPRESSSION OF MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORIST FINANCING IN CENTRAL AFRICA

THE MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) of March 16, 1994 and its Addendum dated July 5, 1996 regarding the Institutional and Legal System of the Community,

Having regard to the Convention of July 5, 1996 governing the Economic Union of Central Africa (UEAC),

Having regard to the Convention of July 5, 1996 governing the Monetary Union of Central Africa (UMAC),

Having regard to the Solemn Declaration of the CEMAC Summit of Heads of State dated December 14, 2000 on money laundering,

Having regard to Additional Act No. 9/00/CEMAC-086/CCE 02 of December 14, 2000 establishing the Central African Action Group against Money Laundering (GABAC),

Having regard to Regulation No. 02/02/CEMAC/UMAC/CM of April 14, 2002 on the organization and functioning of GABAC,

Considering that due to its transnational character and the serious threats it poses to the economic and financial system, the phenomenon of money laundering and terrorist financing has led to unprecedented mobilization by the International Community aimed at establishing a collective and coherent strategy for combating it, based notably on the adoption of modern and adapted legal and institutional fighting methods as well as the development of cooperation,

Considering that due to anti-money laundering and terrorist financing measures in force in most States, criminals are inclined to relocate these activities to States where fighting mechanisms remain inadequate or insufficient, taking advantage notably of the current of globalization and advances in technology and communication,

Considering in consequence the need to strengthen the fight against money laundering in CEMAC States by adopting a community text capable of filling the legislative gap in the prevention and repression of money laundering highlighted notably within the framework of the recommendations and conclusions of the Awareness Seminar on the Fight against Money Laundering in the countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, held in Yaoundé from November 7 to 9, 2000, to which must be added aspects relating to the prevention and repression of terrorist financing,

Considering further that the credibility and full effectiveness of the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing in Central Africa require introducing in Member States a legal framework inspired by international norms and standards in this matter, including those established by instruments such as: the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances adopted in Vienna on December 19, 1988, the Council of Europe Convention of November 8, 1990 on money laundering, tracing, seizure and confiscation of proceeds of crime; Directive No. 91/308/EEC of June 10, 1991 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering adopted by the Council of the European Union; the Basel Declaration of Principle for the prevention of the use of the banking system for money laundering of funds of criminal origin elaborated by the Committee on Banking Regulations and Practices; the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1999; the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, adopted in New York on November 15, 2000, known as the Palermo Convention; Resolutions No. 1373 and 1390 adopted by the Security Council of the United Nations Organization; the 40 Recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on money laundering completed by eight new Recommendations relating to the fight against terrorist financing adopted during the extraordinary plenary meeting of the FATF held in Washington DC on October 29 and 30, 2001,

Having regard to the concurring opinion of the Board of Directors of the BEAC delivered during its meeting of November 20, 2002,

On the proposal of the Governor,

In its meeting of March 28, 2003,

ADOPTS THE REGULATION WITH THE FOLLOWING CONTENT:

TITLE I: DEFINITIONS AND SCOPE

Article 1: Definition of Money Laundering

For the purposes of this Regulation, money laundering refers to one or more of the following acts committed intentionally:

a) the conversion or transfer of property originating from a crime or offense within the meaning of the texts applicable in the Member State or of this Regulation, with the aim of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of said property or of helping any person who is involved in the commission of this crime or offense to escape the legal consequences of their acts;

b) the concealment or disguise of the nature, origin, location, disposition, movement or ownership of property originating from a crime or offense within the meaning of the texts applicable in the Member State or of this Regulation;

c) the acquisition, possession or use of property originating from a crime or offense within the meaning of the texts applicable in the Member State or of this Regulation;

d) participation in one of the acts referred to in this article, association to commit said act, attempts to perpetrate it, the act of aiding, inciting or advising someone to do it or the act of facilitating its execution.

Knowledge of the origin of the property or the intention to commit the aforementioned acts necessary as an element of the offense may be established from objective factual circumstances.

To serve as a basis for prosecution for money laundering under this Regulation, the predicate acts committed in another Member State or in a third State must have the character of a criminal offense in the country where they were committed.

Article 2: Definition of Terrorist Financing

For the purposes of this Regulation, terrorist financing is the act by any person to provide or collect, by any means, directly or indirectly, illicitly and deliberately, funds with the intention that they should be used or in the knowledge that they will be used, in full or in part, in order to commit:

a) an act that constitutes a terrorist offense according to the definition of one of the relevant international treaties regularly ratified by the Member State;

b) any other act intended to kill or seriously injure a civilian, or any other person who does not directly participate in hostilities in an armed conflict situation, when, by its nature or context, this act aims to intimidate a population or to compel a government or an international organization to carry out or abstain from carrying out any act whatsoever.

Article 3: Other Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following terms are defined as follows:

1. Community or CEMAC: the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa;

2. Additional Act: Additional Act No. 9/00/CEMAC-086/CCE 02 of December 14, 2000 establishing GABAC;

3. UEAC: the Economic Union of Central Africa;

4. UMAC: the Monetary Union of Central Africa;

5. Ministerial Committee: the Ministerial Committee of the Monetary Union of Central Africa;

6. Council: the Council of Ministers of the Economic Union of Central Africa;

7. GABAC: the Central African Action Group against Money Laundering;

8. BEAC: the Bank of Central African States;

9. COBAC: the Central African Banking Commission;

10. Governor: the Governor of the Bank of Central African States;

11. Sanctions Committee or Counter-Terrorism Committee: Committee of the Security Council of the United Nations Organization composed of all members of said Council created by Resolution No. 1373 adopted on September 28, 2001 by the Security Council of the United Nations Organization concerning counter-terrorism and charged with monitoring the application of this same Resolution No. 1373;

12. Monetary Authority: the Minister in charge of Currency and Credit in the Member State;

13. Agency or ANIF: the National Financial Investigation Agency established in Article 25 of this Regulation;

14. Member State: any State party to the Treaty establishing the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa;

15. Third State: any State not a member of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa;

16. Proceeds of Crime: any property or any economic benefit derived directly or indirectly from a crime or offense;

17. Property: all types of assets, corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible, as well as legal acts or documents attesting to the ownership of these assets or rights relating thereto;

18. Instrument: all objects used or intended to be used in any way whatsoever, in full or in part, to commit one or more criminal offenses;

19. Criminal Organization or Organized Criminal Group: any structured group with the aim of committing crimes or offenses or terrorist acts, to derive, directly or indirectly, a financial advantage or other material advantage;

20. Confiscation: the permanent deprivation of property by decision of a court;

21. Predicate Offense: any offense notably criminal, even committed abroad, which allowed its perpetrator to obtain proceeds within the meaning of this Regulation;

22. Terrorism: any of the following acts:

a) an act that constitutes an offense with regard to and according to the definition of one of the relevant international treaties ratified by the Member State;

b) an act intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to any civilian person, or to any other person who does not directly participate in hostilities in an armed conflict situation, when, by its nature or context, this act is intended to intimidate a population or to compel a government or an international organization to carry out or abstain from carrying out any act whatsoever;

c) the attempt to commit an offense within the meaning of paragraphs (a) and (b);

d) participation as an accomplice in an offense within the meaning of paragraphs (a), (b) and (c);

e) the act of organizing the commission of an offense within the meaning of paragraphs (a), (b) and (c);

f) the act of deliberately contributing to the commission of one or more of the acts referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) by a group of persons acting in concert in order to facilitate the criminal activity of the group or to serve its goals, when this activity or these goals presuppose the commission of an act within the meaning of points (a) and (b), or to be led in full knowledge of the group's intention to commit an act within the meaning of paragraphs (a) and (b);

23 Perpetrator: any person who participated in the offense as a principal perpetrator, co-perpetrator or accomplice;

24 Credit Institution: bodies that habitually carry out banking operations within the meaning of Article 4 of the Annex to the Convention of January 17, 1992 on the harmonization of Banking Regulation in the States of Central Africa, as well as a branch, within the meaning of Article 16 of the Annex to this same Convention, of a credit institution having its registered office in or outside the CEMAC;

25 Funds: assets of any nature, corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, acquired by any means whatsoever, and documents or legal instruments in any form whatsoever, including in electronic or digital form, which prove a right of ownership or an interest in these assets, including, but not exclusively, bank credits, traveler's checks, bank checks, money orders, shares, securities, bonds, drafts and letters of credit;

26 Freezing of Funds: any action aimed at preventing any movement, transfer, modification, use or manipulation of funds which would have the consequence of changing their volume, amount, location, ownership, possession, nature, destination or any other modification that could allow their use, including portfolio management;

27 Seizure: the temporary prohibition of the transfer, conversion, disposition or movement of property, or the act of temporarily assuming custody or control of property by decision of a court or other competent authority;

28 Controlled Delivery: the operation consisting of allowing the passage through the territory of one or more States of illicit or suspected shipments,

with the knowledge and under the control of the competent authorities of these States, in order to investigate an offense and identify the persons involved in its commission.

Article 4: Object.

This Regulation defines the rules aimed at preventing, detecting, preventing or repressing:

• the use of the financial system or other sectors of economic life of the CEMAC States for the purposes of money laundering;

• the financing of terrorist acts associated with money laundering or not.

Article 5: Subjects.

The provisions of Title II, III and IV of this Regulation are applicable to any natural or legal person who, in the course of their profession, carries out, controls, or advises on operations involving deposits, exchanges, placements, conversions or any other movements of capital, and in particular:

• The Public Treasuries of Member States;
• the BEAC;
• financial institutions;
• money changers;
• managers, owners and directors of casinos and gaming establishments;
• notaries and other members of independent legal professions when they advise or assist clients or act on behalf and for the account of their clients for the purchase and sale of goods, businesses or goodwill, the manipulation of assets, securities or other assets, the opening of bank accounts, the formation, management or direction of companies, trusts or similar structures, or any other financial operations;
• real estate agents;
• transport and fund transfer companies;
• travel agencies;
• statutory auditors, certified public accountants and external auditors, tax advisors;
• dealers in valuables such as works of art, metals and precious stones, automobiles.

Article 6: Financial Institutions

For the application of this article, the following are considered financial institutions: credit institutions (banks and financial establishments) including branches, within the meaning of Article 16 of the Annex to the Convention of January 17, 1992 on the harmonization of Banking Regulation in the States of Central Africa, of a credit institution having its registered office abroad; intermediaries in banking operations; postal financial services; microfinance institutions; insurance and reinsurance companies, insurance and reinsurance brokers; securities exchanges; bodies performing the functions of central depository or clearing bank; brokerage firms; securities market intermediaries; wealth management companies; companies offering investment services, collective investment schemes in securities (UCITS) and UCITS management companies.

Article 7: Specification of Subject Professional Categories.

The Ministerial Committee specifies as needed the definition of professional categories subject to the meaning of Article 5 above.

The application of all or part of the provisions of Title II, III and IV of this Regulation may be extended by the Ministerial Committee or failing that by provisions taken by each Member State, to any profession or category of enterprises when it is established that this profession or category of enterprises has been used for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing or exercises activities particularly likely to be used for such purposes.

Article 8: Declaration to the Public Prosecutor

Persons other than those expressly subject under Article 5 above are required to declare to the Public Prosecutor operations of which they have knowledge and which involve sums they know to be likely to originate from a crime or offense or to fit into a process of money laundering or terrorist financing.

The Public Prosecutor informs the National Financial Investigation Agency, which provides him with all useful information.

When they have made such a declaration in good faith, these persons benefit from the provisions of Articles 22 and 23 below. They are required to respect the confidentiality obligations of declarations, and are subject to the related criminal sanctions provided for by this Regulation.

TITLE II: PREVENTION AND DETECTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING

Article 9: Client Identification.

Financial institutions and other persons subject under Article 5 above must, before opening an account, taking custody of securities, values or bonds, assigning a safe deposit box or establishing any other business relationship, ensure the identity and address of their counterparty by requiring the presentation of an original official document currently valid and bearing a photograph, a copy of which is taken.

They ensure under the same conditions the identity and address of their occasional clients for any transaction involving an amount greater than a threshold defined by the Ministerial Committee or, failing that, by the Member State.

Identification is required even if the amount of the operation is below the set threshold when the lawful origin of the funds is not certain. Identification must also take place in case of repetition of distinct operations, carried out within a limited period and for an individual amount below the set threshold.

Article 10: Identification of the Beneficial Owner

Financial institutions and other persons subject under Article 5 above must inquire into the true identity of the persons on whose behalf an account is opened or an operation is carried out when it appears to them that the persons requesting the opening of the account or the carrying out of the operation may not be acting for their own account.

If the client is a lawyer, a public or private accountant, a private person having a delegation of public authority, or an agent, acting as a financial intermediary, they may not invoke professional secrecy to refuse to communicate the identity of the true operator.

Article 11: Identification Methods

The verification of the identity of a natural person is carried out by the presentation of an original official document currently valid and bearing a photograph, a copy of which is taken. The identification of a legal person is carried out by the production of the statutes and any document establishing that it has been legally constituted and that it has a real existence at the time of identification. A copy is taken.

Managers, employees and agents called upon to enter into contact on behalf of others must, in addition to the above documents relating to the justification of their identity and address, produce documents attesting to the delegation of power granted to them, as well as documents attesting to the identity and address of the beneficial owners.

Article 12: Particular Surveillance of Certain Operations

Any significant operation involving sums whose unit or total amount is greater than a sum fixed by the Ministerial Committee or, failing that, by national provisions, and which, without being able to be the subject of a suspicion report within the meaning of Article 18, presents itself under unusual conditions of complexity and does not appear to have an economic justification or a lawful object, must be subject, by the financial institution and other persons subject under Article 5, to a particular examination aimed at obtaining from the client information on the origin and destination of these sums as well as on the object of the transaction, the identity and domicile of the ordering party or the person who benefits from it.

The financial institution or the person subject under Article 5 establishes a confidential written report containing all the information collected in application of the previous paragraph which it keeps under the conditions provided for in Article 13 of this Regulation.

Any cash payment or by bearer securities of a sum whose unit or total amount is greater than a threshold fixed by the Ministerial Committee or failing that by provisions taken by each Member State, gives rise to a declaration specifying the object of the operation, the origin and destination of the cash or securities, as well as the identity of the parties, which is made to the National Financial Investigation Agency established in Article 25 below.

Particular vigilance must be exercised with regard to electronic transfers and more generally any type of fund transfer regardless of the mode of receipt or execution of the order, as well as with regard to operations originating from or destined to establishments or financial institutions that are not subject to obligations at least equivalent to those of this Regulation in matters of client identification or transaction monitoring or that are located in countries not members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) or in countries identified as non-cooperative in the matters object of this Regulation.

The particular vigilance prescribed in the previous paragraph aims notably to establish the origin of the sums in question.

Article 13: Preservation of Documents and Papers

In the cases referred to in Article 12, the characteristics of the operation and the information concerning the identity and domicile of the interested parties are recorded in writing and kept by the financial institution or the person subject under Article 5, which holds them with the documents and papers relating therewith at the disposal of the authorities and administrations referred to in Article 15 below which alone can obtain communication.

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Without prejudice to provisions establishing more stringent obligations, financial institutions shall retain documents relating to the identity of regular or occasional clients or to transactions carried out by them for at least five years from the closing of accounts, the cessation of relations with the client, or the execution of the transaction.

Article 14: Internal Organization of Financial Institutions

Financial institutions shall develop programs for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. These programs shall include:

a. the centralization of information on the identity of clients, ordering parties, beneficiaries and holders of power of attorney, agents, beneficial owners, and on suspicious transactions reported in application of the provisions of this Regulation;

b. the designation of managers of central management, of each branch, and of each local agency or service;

c. the continuous training of civil servants or employees;

d. an internal control mechanism for the application and effectiveness of measures adopted for the implementation of this Regulation.

Article 15: Communication of Documents and Papers

For the application of this Regulation, the following may request communication of the information and documents referred to in Articles 9 to 13 above:

• the National Financial Investigation Agency, in order to reconstruct all transactions made by a natural or legal person and linked to an operation that has been the subject of a suspicious transaction report, or in order to inform, under the conditions provided for by this Regulation, the services of other States exercising analogous competences;

• the judicial authority or officials responsible for detecting and repressing offenses related to money laundering acting within the framework of a criminal procedure;

• the professional supervisory authority.

Under no circumstances shall persons having the obligation to transmit the aforementioned information and documents, as well as any other person having knowledge thereof, communicate them to other natural or legal persons than those listed in this article.

Article 16: Manual Money Changers

Natural or legal persons other than credit institutions and the BEAC, who professionally carry out manual exchange operations, shall submit, before commencing their operations, an activity declaration to the BEAC including justification of the origin of the funds necessary.

Manual money changers are subject to the obligations prescribed in Articles 9 to 13 above for their operations whose amount exceeds a threshold fixed by the Ministerial Committee or, failing that, by provisions taken by each Member State.

They shall keep a register of all their transactions which records in chronological order the amount and nature of the operation, the identity and address of the client, as well as the references of the official document presented. This register shall be numbered and initialed by the competent administrative authority and retained for at least five years after the last recorded operation.

Article 17: Casinos and Gaming Establishments

Casinos and gaming establishments are required to submit, before commencing their operations, an activity declaration to the supervisory authority and to the ANIF including justification of the origin of the necessary funds.

Casinos and gaming establishments are required to register and retain for at least five years the names and addresses of players who exchange or bring in particular chips, plates or tickets for a sum greater than an amount fixed by the Ministerial Committee or, failing that, by provisions taken by each Member State. They ensure their identity by requiring the presentation of an original official document currently valid and bearing a photograph, of which a copy is taken.

Casinos and gaming establishments are required to exercise the particular surveillance of certain operations prescribed in Article 12 above.

They shall keep a register of all their transactions which records in chronological order the amount and nature of the operation, the identity and address of the client, as well as the references of the official document presented. This register shall be numbered and initialed by the competent administrative authority and retained for at least five years after the last recorded operation.

Article 18: Obligation to Report Suspicious Transactions

Financial institutions and other persons subject to the provisions of Article 5 above are required, under the conditions fixed by this Regulation, to report to the National Financial Investigation Agency:

• sums or any other assets in their possession when they could be linked to a crime or a misdemeanor or fit into a process of money laundering;

• operations involving sums or assets that could originate from a crime or a misdemeanor or fit into a process of money laundering.

Financial institutions and other persons subject to the provisions of Article 5 are also required to report to the National Financial Investigation Agency:

• any operation where the identity of the ordering party or the beneficiary remains doubtful despite the diligence carried out in accordance with Articles 9 to 11 of this Regulation;

• operations carried out by financial institutions for their own account or for the account of third parties with legal persons including their subsidiaries or establishments, acting in the form of or for the account of trust funds or any other asset management instrument of a specific purpose whose identity of the settlors or beneficiaries is not known.

The report may concern operations already executed when it was impossible to postpone their execution or when it appeared subsequently to the completion of the operation that the sums could originate from drug trafficking or fit into a process of money laundering.

Any information likely to reinforce or refute the suspicion must be immediately reported to the National Financial Investigation Agency.

Article 19: Forms and Details

The report may be verbal or written.

Reports made by telephone may be confirmed by fax or any other written means.

The report specifies the deadline within which the suspicious operation must be executed or, if applicable, the reasons why the operation has already been executed.

The report is addressed to the National Financial Investigation Agency.

Article 20: Acknowledgment of Receipt

Upon receipt, the National Financial Investigation Agency acknowledges receipt of the report.

The declarant may request that the National Financial Investigation Agency does not acknowledge receipt of the report.

In the event that the National Financial Investigation Agency refers the matter to the Public Prosecutor, the report, of which he is notified, does not appear in the case file of the procedure.

Article 21: Failure to Report

When, due to either a lack of vigilance or a deficiency in the organization of its internal control procedures, a financial institution has failed to make the report provided for in Article 18 above, the authority having disciplinary power is empowered to initiate proceedings on the basis of professional or administrative regulations and to notify the Public Prosecutor.

Article 22: Exemption from Liability

For sums or operations that have been the subject of the report and the diligence prescribed by this Regulation, no criminal proceedings may be brought against the directors and employees of the financial institution or any other person subject to the provisions of Article 5 who have acted in good faith.

No civil liability action may be brought nor any professional sanction pronounced for violation of banking or professional secrecy or for any other reason against a financial institution, its directors or its employees who have in good faith made the report and other diligence prescribed by this Regulation or proceeded to block an operation within the framework of said Regulation; and this even if the investigations have not resulted in prosecution or conviction.

When the operation that was the subject of the report has been executed under the conditions provided for in Article 18, paragraph 3 above and unless there is fraudulent collusion with the owner of the sums or the author of the operation, the financial institution or any other person subject to the provisions of Article 5 is released from all liability, and no proceedings may be brought on this ground against its directors or its employees for offenses provided for by this Regulation or by provisions not contrary to current law in the matter of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Article 23: Scope of Exemption

The provisions of the previous article apply even if proof of the criminal nature of the facts at the origin of the report is not provided or if these facts have been the subject of a decision of non-prosecution, acquittal or dismissal.

Article 24: Extent of Obligations of Subject Persons

The Ministerial Committee specifies, as necessary, the obligations incumbent on the professional categories subject to this Regulation.

Article 25: National Financial Investigation Agency.

A National Financial Investigation Agency, abbreviated ANIF, is established in each Member State, charged with receiving, processing and, if necessary, transmitting to the competent judicial authorities the reports to which financial institutions and persons subject to the provisions of Article 5 are required.

A Decree specifies in each Member State, in conformity with this Regulation, the modalities of organization, functioning and financing of the National Financial Investigation Agency.

The National Financial Investigation Agency gathers and processes, within the framework of the implementation of this Regulation and the texts taken for its application, all information suitable to establish the origin of the sums or the nature of the operations that are the subject of the report.

It also receives all other information useful to its mission, in particular those communicated by the judicial authorities and the supervisory authorities of the subject persons.

The Agency develops in particular, in compliance with current texts, a database containing all information useful for the purposes pursued by this Regulation. These information are updated and organized in a way to optimize searches to support suspicions or to dispel them.

The Agency prepares quarterly reports on its activity. This report lists the money laundering techniques identified on national territory and contains the Agency's proposals aimed at strengthening the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. It establishes an annual summary report. These reports are addressed to the Minister in charge of Finance, the Minister in charge of Security and the Minister in charge of Justice as well as to the Permanent Secretary of GABAC and the Governor.

It ensures any other mission provided for by this Regulation or assigned to it by the Ministerial Committee or the Monetary Authority, in particular in the matter of prevention of terrorist financing.

Article 26: Organization

The National Financial Investigation Agency is an administrative service placed in each Member State under the authority of the Minister in charge of Finance. It is endowed with financial autonomy and its own decision-making power in matters falling within its attributions in application of this Regulation and the texts taken for its application.

In each Member State, the ANIF is the recipient of suspicious transaction reports and centralizes all information and documents sent to it in application of this Regulation.

Article 27: Composition

The National Financial Investigation Agency is composed of four members:

• a civil servant seconded by the Ministry in charge of Finance;
• a judicial police officer specialized in financial matters, seconded by the Ministry in charge of the Interior, Security or Defense;
• a customs services inspector seconded by the Ministry in charge of Finance;
• a magistrate specialized in financial matters from the Ministry in charge of Justice.

The Head of the National Financial Investigation Agency is one of the civil servants seconded from the Ministry in charge of Finance. He represents the agency vis-à-vis third parties and ensures, under the conditions fixed by this Regulation, the implementation of the Agency's attributions.

Article 28: Correspondents

In each Member State, correspondents of the National Financial Investigation Agency are designated ex officio within the Police, Gendarmerie, Customs and Justice or any other public service whose contribution is deemed necessary within the framework of the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, by decision of the competent Minister taken at the request of the Minister in charge of Finance on proposal of the Head of the ANIF.

The correspondents collaborate with the National Financial Investigation Agency within the framework of the exercise of its missions in order to ensure good cooperation between the ANIF and the administrations from which they come.

Article 29: Internal Regulations

An Internal Regulation is adopted in each Member State by the members of the National Financial Investigation Agency. It specifies the internal operating rules of the National Financial Investigation Agency.

Article 30: Financing

The resources of the National Financial Investigation Agency come from the contributions of the Member State, as well as those of the Community institutions and Development partners.

Article 31: Right of Communication and Confidentiality

The National Financial Investigation Agency may, upon its request, obtain from any public authority, persons subject to the provisions of Article 5 or any natural or legal person, the communication of information and documents, within the framework of the investigations it undertakes following a suspicious transaction report.

Professional secrecy cannot be opposed to the National Financial Investigation Agency.

The members and correspondents of the National Financial Investigation Agency take, upon their appointment and before entering office, the oath to faithfully perform their duties and in strict compliance with this Regulation and the provisions taken for its application.

The members and correspondents of the National Financial Investigation Agency are bound by the secrecy of information collected within the framework of their functions or missions, even after the cessation thereof.

Article 32: Incompatibilities

Civil servants or state agents seconded to the National Financial Investigation Agency as members cease to exercise their functions within the framework of their original administration.

Correspondents and members of the Agency cannot simultaneously exercise any activity that could harm the independence of their functions. They cannot exercise functions with one of the subject persons defined in Article 5 of this Regulation except with the authorization of the Head of the Agency.

Article 33: Opposition to the Execution of Operations

The National Financial Investigation Agency may, before the expiration of the execution period mentioned by the declarant, oppose the execution of the operation. This opposition is notified to the declarant by fax or any other means leaving a written trace by the Head of the Agency.

The opposition prevents the execution of the operation for a duration that cannot exceed 48 hours. The execution of the operation is postponed for this duration.

If the acknowledgment of receipt of the National Financial Investigation Agency is not accompanied by an opposition, or if, at the end of the period opened by the opposition, no decision of the competent jurisdiction or, if applicable, the investigating judge or the Public Prosecutor's office, has reached the financial institution or the person who made the report, the operation may be executed.

The judge competent in matters of urgency may, upon request of the National Financial Investigation Agency, extend by order rendered at the foot of said request, the period provided for in the second paragraph of this article or order the provisional blocking of the funds, accounts or securities concerned by the report for an additional duration that cannot exceed eight days. The Public Prosecutor near the competent jurisdiction may present a request for the same purposes. The order granting the request is enforceable on the original before any notification to the person concerned by the report.

Article 34: Follow-up to Suspicious Transaction Reports

As soon as the information collected highlights facts likely to relate to drug trafficking, the activity of criminal organizations, money laundering or any other offense provided for by this regulation, the National Financial Investigation Agency refers the matter to the Public Prosecutor near the competent jurisdiction to whom it transmits a report on the facts containing its opinion.

The report mentioned in the previous paragraph is accompanied by all useful documents, with the exception of the suspicious transaction reports themselves. The identity of the author of the report does not appear in the report.

Article 35: Coordination and Regional Action

GABAC is the recipient of the quarterly or annual reports of the National Financial Investigation Agencies as well as, upon its request, statistical and non-nominative information collected by the Agencies.

It favors cooperation between the National Financial Investigation Agencies and is charged with coordinating their actions aimed at the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

GABAC establishes a semi-annual regional synthesis report of the reports of the National Financial Investigation Agencies which is transmitted to the Governor of the BEAC and the Executive Secretary of CEMAC for the information of Member States and Community institutions.

TITLE III: PREVENTION AND DETECTION OF TERRORIST FINANCING

Article 36: Declaration of Suspicious Transactions and Funds

Financial institutions and other persons subject to the provisions of Article 5 of this Regulation must, when they have reasonable grounds to suspect that funds or fund movements are linked, associated or destined to be used for the financing of terrorism, terrorist acts or terrorist organizations, quickly report their suspicions to the National Financial Investigation Agency in the forms and following the modalities of the suspicious transaction report described in Articles 18 to 23 above.

Article 37: Lists of Persons, Entities or Organizations

The Sanctions Committee establishes in accordance with United Nations resolutions relating to the prevention and repression of the financing of terrorist acts, a list of natural or legal persons and organizations to be subject to restrictive measures as being terrorists or linked to terrorist organizations or who finance terrorism and terrorist organizations.

The Ministerial Committee adopts the list of persons, entities or organizations whose funds are frozen by financial institutions or other persons subject to this Regulation, in accordance with the list of the Sanctions Committee and information collected in Member States.

The President of the Ministerial Committee modifies, as quickly as possible, the list he adopts in order to take into account changes on the Sanctions Committee list. He ensures that the names of natural or legal persons, entities and organizations listed on the list he adopts contain sufficient details to allow effective identification of specific natural or legal persons, entities or organizations and thus facilitate the exoneration of persons, entities or organizations bearing identical or analogous names.

Article 38: Declaration of Funds and Transactions of Listed Persons.

Financial institutions or other persons subject to the provisions of Article 5 of this Regulation are required to report to the National Financial Investigation Agency the operations, sums, assets or other assets of persons appearing on the list established by the Sanctions Committee in accordance with United Nations resolutions relating to the prevention and repression of the financing of terrorist acts or on that adopted by the Ministerial Committee.

When these institutions and persons have made such a report, they benefit from the liability exemptions defined in Articles 22 and 23 above.

The Public Prosecutor informs the National Financial Investigation Agency without delay of the reports made directly to him.

Article 39: Particular Examination of Certain Funds and Operations

For the purpose of the report provided for in the previous article, financial institutions and persons subject to the provisions of Article 5 of this Regulation examine in a particular way the operations they carry out and the funds they hold directly or indirectly for charitable, cultural or social organizations.

They retain for five years a copy of any document relating to this particular examination and likely to support their suspicions. These documents are, if applicable, attached as copies to the suspicious transaction report provided for in Article 36, paragraph 1 above.