Financial Crime World

Mauritania’s Efforts to Prevent Terrorist Financing through Non-Profit Organizations

Characteristics and Types of Associations at Risk

Mauritania has a significant number of non-profit organizations (NPOs) subject to its laws. According to the 1964 law for associations, there are:

  • 7,799 NPOs that require supervision
  • Excluded from this requirement are associations engaged in social and awareness-raising activities that do not receive or provide funds
  • The number of active NPOs is limited to 100

National Risk Assessment (NRA)

The National Risk Assessment (NRA) conducted by Mauritania has revealed:

  • Almost no threats posed by terrorist entities to NPOs
  • This assessment was derived from various elements, including law enforcement, FIU, investigation, prosecution, and courts data

Legislative and Regulatory Framework

Mauritania has taken steps to strengthen its legislative and regulatory framework to prevent terrorist financing through NPOs. These include:

  • Amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law No. 017-2019
  • Decree 197-2019, which introduced an independent section addressing NPOs
  • Article 14 of the Implementing Decree, which requires authorities to provide information requested by the supervisory authority

Protocol between FIU and NPOs Supervisory Authorities

Mauritania has established a protocol between its Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and NPOs supervisory authorities. This protocol aims to:

  • Promote outreach and awareness programs about potential vulnerabilities in NPOs
  • Develop best practices to prevent TF risks and vulnerabilities
  • The Commission on Human Rights, Humaniarian Action, and Relations with Civil Society is responsible for RBA application

Shortcomings

Despite these efforts, there are still areas that require improvement:

  • Lack of information on how terrorist actors abuse NPOs (Criterion 8.1 b)
  • No evidence of execution of outreach programs to raise awareness among NPOs (8.2 b)
  • No evidence of work with NPOs to develop and refine best practices to address TF risks (8.2 c)
  • No evidence of enhanced RBA supervision over NPOs (Criterion 8.3)