Cameroon

1. Does Cameroon have legislation making it a criminal offence to engage in money laundering and/or terrorist financing?

Yes.

2. To whom does the legislation apply?

To any natural or legal person or any organisation, domiciled in one of the CEMAC Member States.

3. What does the legislation prohibit?

Money laundering, financing terrorism and financing of proliferation.

4. How is money laundering defined? Does underlying criminal activity have to be proven?

• Converting or transferring property, by any person who knows that the property originates from criminal activity or from participation in a criminal activity, with the aim of concealing or disguising the illegal origin of said property or of helping any person involved in this activity from escaping the legal consequences of these acts;
• Concealing or disguising the nature, origin or location of the provision, movement or the ownership of property or the rights related thereof, by any person who knows that this property originates from criminal activity or from participation in criminal activity; and
• Acquiring, holding or using property when the person benefiting from it knows at the moment when s/he receives it that the property originates from criminal activity or from participation in criminal activity.

The proof of the legality of the origin of the property in question shall be incumbent on the person prosecuted.

5. What level of intent or knowledge is required to establish a violation?

The knowledge or intention of the elements of money laundering activities, may be inferred from objective factual circumstances.

6. What are the potential penalties for infringing the legislation?

Prison sentence of between 5 and ten years and a fine of between 5 and ten times the value of the property or funds involved in the money laundering operations, with a minimum amount of 10,000,000 CF A francs.

7. Does the legislation have extra-territorial reach?

Yes, it is money laundering even if the activities at the origin of the property to be laundered are carried out on the territory of another CEMAC Member State or that of a third State.

8. Are there additional anti-money laundering or counter terrorist financing regulations or obligations, such as registration or reporting obligations, for businesses or individuals that operate in particular sectors or undertake particular activities?

The AML regulation (Regulation 01/CEMAC/UMAC/CM of 16 April 2016 on the prevention and suppression of money laundering and of the financing of terrorism in Central Africa) provides for the adoption by financial institutions of arrangements such as: Know Your Customer or KYC; knowledge of the customer’s business relations; monitoring transactions; declaration of suspicion to the National Agency for Financial Investigations (ANIF) and the Banking Commission of Central Africa (COBAC); centralisation of information regarding the identity of customers, originators and beneficiaries, and regarding transactions; communication of information that may be useful in suppressing financial crime to financial intelligence units, to the competent criminal prosecution authorities, and to public prosecutors.

9. What are the potential penalties for failing to comply with these obligations?

COBAC is also a jurisdictional body and can intervene on a disciplinary basis, without prejudice to the sanctions that may be taken by the national judicial authorities. The sanctions provided for are:

• a warning,
• a reprimand,
• a ban on carrying out certain operations or any other restriction on the exercise of banking activity,
• the suspension or dismissal of auditors,
• the suspension or compulsory resignation of the managers responsible and
• the withdrawal of the institution’s licence.

10. Who are the relevant enforcement authorities in Cameroon and what are their contact details?