Financial Crime World

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Burkina Faso Takes Significant Step Forward in Fight Against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing

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Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso - In a major development, the government of Burkina Faso has extended the prerogatives of the National Committee for the Coordination of Activities against money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (CNCA) to include the fight against the financing of proliferation.

Enhanced Responsibilities

According to a decree issued on December 10, 2019, the CNCA will now be responsible for coordinating national efforts to combat:

  • Money laundering
  • Terrorist financing
  • Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

The committee will also be placed under the supervision of the Minister of Finance, giving it a broader scope of responsibilities.

Significant Step Forward

This move is seen as a significant step forward in Burkina Faso’s efforts to combat financial crimes and prevent the misuse of its financial system by terrorist organizations. The country has been working to improve its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, with the aim of enhancing transparency and preventing the flow of illicit funds.

Progress Made

In a recent report, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) praised Burkina Faso for making progress in addressing some of the deficiencies identified in its AML/CFT regime. The country has also initiated discussions with technical and financial partners to implement the National Risk Assessment action plan and develop a new AML/CFT strategy.

Outstanding Issues

However, the report noted that Burkina Faso still needs to address several outstanding issues, including:

  • Lack of national ML/TF policies informed by the risks identified
  • Compliance with new requirements introduced following the adoption of its Mutual Evaluation Report (MER), including compatibility between AML/CFT and data protection and respect for privacy

Commitment to Strengthening AML/CFT Regime

Despite these challenges, Burkina Faso remains committed to strengthening its AML/CFT regime and has embarked on several initiatives to resolve the deficiencies identified. These include:

  • Assigning the CNCA a new role as a competent authority in charge of coordinating national efforts against money laundering and terrorist financing
  • Operationalizing legal divisions specialized in economic and financial crimes and terrorism
  • Developing guidance for non-financial reporting entities

Future Plans

The country is also planning to develop a new AML/CFT enhancement strategy in 2020, which will include aggregating the National Risk Assessment action plan and Recommendations of the MER. Burkina Faso’s efforts are expected to contribute to a significant improvement in its AML/CFT regime and enhance its position in the international fight against financial crimes.

Source: FATF Report on Burkina Faso