Combatting Money Laundering Through Financial Institutions in Cameroon: A Legal Appraisal
Keywords:
Money laundering, combatting, financial institutions, legal and appraisalAbstract
In Cameroon, money laundering remains a danger to the nation's economic stability, social justice, and right to progress, even with the country's laws and institutions designed to suppress it. Making huge sums of money obtained through unlawful activities, such drug trafficking or corruption, seem as though they originated from a legitimate source is known as money laundering. Money laundering undermines financial institutions, which are critical to the advancement of the economy, promotes crime and corruption, which impede economic growth, and reduces productivity in the real economy, all of which have an impact on the overall objectives of the state. This paper focuses on examining the fight against money laundering by financial institutions in Cameroon. The paper adopts a qualitative research methodology with the doctrinal method being one of its main methods which entail content analysis of primary and secondary data. The study also makes use of unstructured interviews, and observation. The ensuing result revealed that money laundering to a greater extent is effectively being combatted by financial institutions in Cameroon. Yet, there remain challenges that hinder their effectiveness in addressing certain issues. Hence, there is the need to empower the staff of financial institutions through training and to strengthen the fight against corruption within staff of financial institutions in Cameroon.
References
A commercial bank is a financial institution that provides services like loans, certificates of deposits, savings bank accounts bank overdrafts, etc. to its customers. These institutions make money by lending loans to individuals and earning interest on loans.
Microfinance is a banking service provided to low-income individuals or groups who otherwise would have no other access to financial services. Microfinance allows people to take on reasonable small business loans safely, in a manner that is consistent with ethical lending practices.
See CEMAC Regulation No 01/03/CEMAC/UMAC/CM of April 04, 2003.
Anti Money Laundering Forum, CENTRAL AUTHORITY FOR REPORTING. Available at https://www.anti-moneylaundering.org/africa/Cameroon.aspx. Accessed on 28/08/2023.
See Section 6 of Law No 2022/006 of 27 April 2022 Governing Banking Secrecy in Cameroon.
Head of Compliance of Union Bank of Africa, Cameroon on the 15th of December 2023 at Douala.
Ibid.
"Accueil - BEAC." Available at https://www.beac.int/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/R-2005_01.pdf. Accessed on 17/12/2024.
See Article 5 and 6 of COBAC Regulation R-2005/01 Relating to The Due Diligence of Subject Establishments in The Fight Against Money Laundering and The Financing of Terrorism in Central Africa.
See Article 8 of the said regulation.
COBAC Regulation R-2005/01 Relating to The Due Diligence of Subject Establishments in The Fight Against Money Laundering and The Financing of Terrorism in Central Africa.
See Section 6(e) of Law No 2022/006 of 27 April 2022 Governing Banking Secrecy in Cameroon.
Law No 2022/006 of 27 April 2022 Governing Banking Secrecy in Cameroon.
Law No.2016/007 of 12th July 2016 relating to the Penal Code
Oana Adriana IACOB, “Principles Regarding State Jurisdiction in International Law”, University of Bucharest, 2004, p.602
UNODC, Country Review Report of Cameroon. Available at https://uncaccoalition.org/files/Cycle1-Country-Report-Cameroon.pdf, Accessed on 23/08/2023.
Ibid.
Law No.2005/007 of 27th July 2005 to institute the harmonized Criminal Procedure Code applicable in the whole territory.
Ibid.
Interview carried out with Head of Compliance of Union Bank of Africa, Cameroon on the 15th of December 2023 at Douala.
Interview conducted with a staff at Ecobank Cameroon S.A who elected to be unanimous on the 18th of November 2023 at Douala.
Ibid.
Head of Compliance of Union Bank of Africa, Cameroon on the 15th of December 2023.
Interview conducted with a staff of Ecobank Cameroon S.A who elected to be unanimous on the 18th of November 2023.
Interview conducted with a staff of Société General Cameroun (SGC) Buea who elected to be unanimous on the 14th of November 2023.
Interview conducted with a staff of at Ecobank Cameroon S.A who elected to be unanimous on the 18th of November 2023.
Circular Letter No 020/GR/2019, relating to the obligation to report suspicious transactions for the operational entities of the Central Services and Centers of the BEAC. Accessed on the 22/12/2023.
Information derived during interview conducted with the Head of Compliance of Union Bank of Africa, Cameroon on the 15th of December 2023.
Information derived during an interview conducted with the Head of Compliance UBA Cameroon on the 27th of December 2023.
Ibid.
Information derived during interview conducted with a staff of Ecobank Cameroon S.A who elected to be unanimous on the 20th of November 2023.
Banque Des États De L'afrique Centrale. Avalable at https://www.beac.int/supervision-bancaire/la-commission-bancaire/. Accessed on the 20/01/2024.
Ibid.
Several counts form the base of this case. However, amongst the seven counts that were brought against the manager, count seven is our focus of interest as it relates with our research and for that reason, we dealt only with it in this work.
Suspicious Transaction Reports.
Report on the status of the Fight against Corruption in Cameroon in 2020, page ix.
National Agency for Financial Investigation.
Information obtained from Head of Compliance in UBA Cameroon in Douala during an interview on the 18/02/2024.
