Financial Crime World

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Financial Crime Laws and Regulations in Niger

Niger, a landlocked country in West Africa, has made significant strides in implementing anti-money laundering (AML) and combating terrorist financing (CFT) regulations. However, the country still faces challenges in certain areas, according to a recent report.

Assessment of Compliance with FATF Recommendations

The report assesses Niger’s compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations, which provide a global standard for AML/CFT measures. The ratings reflect the extent to which Niger has implemented these technical requirements.

Mixed Results in Financial Crime Laws and Regulations

In the report, Niger received mixed results across various aspects of its financial crime laws and regulations. While it was largely compliant in areas such as:

  • Assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach
  • National cooperation and coordination
  • Money laundering offence
  • Targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing

Niger fell short in others, including:

  • Confiscation and provisional measures: partially compliant
  • Targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation: partially compliant
  • Customer due diligence: partially compliant
  • Record keeping: partially compliant
  • Correspondent banking: partially compliant
  • New technologies and higher-risk countries: non-compliant
  • Terrorist financing offence: “partially” rating
  • Confiscation and provisional measures: “partially” rating

Criticisms of Regulations

Niger’s regulations were also criticized for lacking:

  • Transparency
  • Beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements
  • Sufficient guidance and feedback to financial institutions from its financial intelligence unit

Positive Aspects

On the positive side, Niger was compliant in areas such as:

  • Financial institution secrecy laws
  • Customer due diligence
  • Record keeping
  • Powers of supervisors
  • Wire transfers: “largely” rating
  • Reliance on third parties: “largely” rating
  • Internal controls and foreign branches and subsidiaries: “largely” rating

Recommendations for Improvement

The report recommends that Niger strengthen its regulations to address the identified shortcomings and improve its overall compliance with the FATF Recommendations. By doing so, the country can better protect itself from financial crimes and maintain its reputation as a responsible player in the global financial system.

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