Anti Money Laundering and Combating of Financing of Terrorism Act, 2012
Sierra Leone's framework law against money laundering and terrorist financing, imposing customer-due-diligence, reporting and record-keeping duties and creating a Financial Intelligence Unit.
Summary
The Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Financing of Terrorism Act, 2012 provides the legal framework for preventing, detecting and prosecuting the laundering of criminal proceeds and the financing of terrorism in Sierra Leone. It criminalises money laundering and terrorist financing and sets out the preventive duties that banks, financial institutions and other reporting entities must observe.
The Act requires reporting entities to identify and verify their customers (customer due diligence), keep records, and report suspicious and large cash transactions. It provides for a Financial Intelligence Unit to receive, analyse and disseminate such reports, and for the freezing, seizure and confiscation of tainted property.
It also provides for supervision and enforcement, penalties for breach, and cooperation with foreign authorities, aligning Sierra Leone's regime with international standards against financial crime.
Main provisions
- Criminalises money laundering and the financing of terrorism, with penalties.
- Imposes customer due diligence, record-keeping and reporting duties on banks and other reporting entities.
- Requires reporting of suspicious transactions and prescribed cash transactions.
- Provides for a Financial Intelligence Unit to receive and analyse reports.
- Allows for the freezing, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds of crime.
- Provides for supervision, enforcement and international cooperation.