Algeria Makes Strides Against Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

Algeria has made significant progress in recent years in combating money laundering and financial crimes. The government has taken several steps to update its laws and guidelines to prevent illegal activities.

Strengthened Criminal Laws and Guidelines

The Algerian government has updated its criminal laws on terrorist financing and issued new guidelines for the Bank of Algeria and the Ministry of Finance’s Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTRF), the country’s financial intelligence unit. This move aims to strengthen the country’s anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.

FATF Mutual Evaluation Report

According to the latest Mutual Evaluation Report conducted by an international organization, Algeria was deemed compliant with 2 and largely compliant with 9 of the FATF 40 Recommendations. The report also found that the country was highly effective in 0 areas and substantially effective in 2 out of 11 areas regarding the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime.

EU Global Facility on AML/CFT Scoping Mission

In March last year, a team from the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT conducted a scoping mission to Algeria to assess the country’s needs for technical assistance and define a future course of action. The mission aimed at identifying areas where Algeria required support in strengthening its AML/CFT framework.

Technical Assistance Activities

Following the scoping mission, technical assistance activities began in January this year, focusing on several key topics:

• Implementing anti-money laundering regulations more effectively
• Strengthening the financial system

The project aims to help Algeria implement its AML/CFT regulations more effectively and strengthen its financial system. This will enable the country to better prevent and detect money laundering and terrorist financing activities.