Morocco’s Parliament approved a bill about anti-Money laundering
Morocco’s House of Representatives has totally approved a project to modify the penal code and the law to fight money laundering. On Monday, the justice and legislative and committee totally agreed the modification during a gathering.
On his part, Justice Minister Mohamed Ben Abdelkader stated in a plenary session on Tuesday that the project would allow the authorities to track illicit funds in preparation for their confiscation. He also said: It also comes in line with making national laws compatible with the standards of the International Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Indeed, the project extends the acts that form the money laundering crime to comprise also those committed outside and increases confiscation of property to involve the predicate offense of money laundering.
This decision come as a part of the execution of FATF’s recommendation that said that countries must take legislative measures that allow the confiscation of laundered property, earnings or even means used or those intended to be used in money laundering or predicate crimes.
The law included other acts
Furthermore, the project shows that financial and non-financial institutions, like lawyers, notaries and others, should provide more details of the processes that they do with their clients to the National Financial Information Authority.
In the bill’s control department there is also monitoring of gambling activities in vessels and trafficking in valuable stones that are used for money laundering. This parliament’s strategy comes in accordance with FATF’s recommendations published on Feb. 25.
Otherwise, FATF added Morocco and three other countries to the monitoring list. The so-called gray list contains now 19 countries and territories that it states that they are just partially achieving international rules for combatting terrorism financing and money laundering.
