Financial Crime World

Morocco’s Anti-Terrorism Financing Laws Face Scrutiny Amid Global Concerns

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Risk Assessment and Prevention

Morocco has been under intense scrutiny by international authorities regarding its implementation of anti-terrorism laws. According to recent ratings, Morocco has shown mixed compliance with technical requirements set forth by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations.

  • Assessing Risk: Morocco’s efforts in assessing risk have been deemed partially compliant (PC). While it has established a risk-based approach to identify high-risk customers, there is room for improvement in terms of more stringent measures to prevent suspicious transactions.
  • National Cooperation and Coordination: Morocco’s national cooperation and coordination mechanisms have also received a PC rating. The country has made strides in establishing effective communication channels among relevant authorities, but further improvements are needed to ensure seamless information sharing.

Morocco’s legal framework for combating terrorism financing has been assessed as follows:

  • Money Laundering Offence: Morocco’s laws criminalizing money laundering have been deemed largely compliant (LC). However, there are concerns regarding the lack of clear definitions and penalties for related offenses.
  • Confiscation and Provisional Measures: The country’s confiscation and provisional measures have received a PC rating. While it has established procedures for seizing assets linked to terrorism financing, more stringent measures are needed to prevent asset flight.

Criminalization

Morocco’s laws criminalizing terrorist financing have been assessed as follows:

  • Terrorist Financing Offence: Morocco’s laws criminalizing terrorist financing have been deemed LC. However, there is concern regarding the lack of clear definitions and penalties for related offenses.
  • Targeted Financial Sanctions Related to Terrorism and Terrorist Financing: The country’s targeted financial sanctions have received a PC rating. While it has implemented measures to freeze assets linked to terrorism financing, more improvements are needed to ensure effective enforcement.

Additional Recommendations

Morocco still needs to improve in several areas:

  • R.1: Customer Due Diligence
  • R.2: Record Keeping
  • R.3: Reporting and Record Keeping
  • R.4: Cash Transaction Limits
  • R.5: Wire Transfer Controls
  • …and so on, covering all the FATF recommendations (R.1-R.40).