Algeria Advances in Anti-Money Laundering Efforts Amid Global Scrutiny
Strengthening Financial Sector
In a significant move towards strengthening its financial sector, Algeria has made substantial progress in combating money laundering and financial crimes over the past few decades. The country’s government has taken a proactive approach to update its laws on terrorist financing and implement new guidelines for the Bank of Algeria and the Ministry of Finance’s Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTRF), which serves as the country’s financial intelligence unit.
International Recognition
A recent Mutual Evaluation Report, conducted in 2023 by international regulators, found that Algeria is meeting international standards in several key areas. According to the report, the country was deemed compliant with two and largely compliant with nine of the 40 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations aimed at preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.
Key Findings:
- Compliant with 2 out of 40 FATF recommendations
- Largely compliant with 9 out of 40 FATF recommendations
- Rated as highly effective in none and substantially effective in only 2 out of 11 effectiveness criteria
Areas for Improvement
Despite the progress made, the assessment also highlighted areas for improvement. However, the report acknowledges Algeria’s efforts towards implementing a robust anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.
Technical Assistance and Cooperation
In response to the evaluation findings, the European Union’s Global Facility on AML/CFT conducted a scoping mission to Algeria in March 2022. The mission aimed to identify areas where technical assistance would be most beneficial and establish a roadmap for future cooperation.
Ongoing Initiatives:
- Strengthening regulatory framework
- Enhancing financial intelligence capabilities
- Improving international cooperation
As Algeria continues to work towards meeting global standards, these efforts are expected to contribute significantly to its ongoing progress in combating money laundering and financial crimes.