Guinea’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Regime: Strengthening the System

Guinea has made significant strides in strengthening its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) regime, but there is still much work to be done. A recent assessment by international experts highlights several areas where improvements are needed to effectively combat these threats.

Institutional Reforms Lag Behind

While Guinea has adopted a new AML/CFT law and established key institutions such as the Court for the Repression of Economic and Financial Offences (CRIEF) and the Agency for the Management and Recovery of Seized and Confiscated Assets (AGRASC), the impact of these reforms is still unclear. The country’s national risk assessment, conducted three years ago, has yet to be widely disseminated or backed by an action plan.

Low Banking Rate and Informal Economy Pose Challenges

Guinea’s low banking rate, predominant use of cash, and large informal economy make it difficult to implement AML/CFT measures effectively. The vastness of the country’s land borders and prevalence of corruption also exacerbate these challenges.

National Cooperation and Coordination Needed

Despite efforts to establish a national authority for mapping out inter-agency cooperation and coordination mechanisms, Guinea still lacks robust cooperation among its agencies. An action plan to mitigate identified risks is yet to be developed, and there is no national strategy emanating from the risk assessment.

Financial Intelligence and Reporting

Guinea’s system for producing, enriching, and using financial intelligence is largely dependent on the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which relies on a few sources of information. However, few law enforcement agencies use financial intelligence when investigating predicate offenses such as corruption, tax fraud, and drug trafficking.

Detecting False Declarations

Guinea’s system for detecting false declarations or non-declarations of cash and bearer negotiable instruments is defective and almost dysfunctional, making it difficult to detect money laundering or terrorist financing cases.

Investigations and Prosecutions Rare

Money laundering-related investigations and prosecutions are rare due to lack of prioritization, inadequate resources, and appropriate training. Confiscation of proceeds of crime is also a challenge.

Supervision and Regulation

Bank supervision in Guinea is well-structured, but the risk-based approach is largely non-existent for other sectors such as insurance, foreign exchange bureaus, microfinance institutions, and electronic money institutions. Supervisory measures have limited impact due to lack of sanctions and inadequate resources.

International Cooperation

Guinea’s use of international cooperation in AML/CFT is still insignificant, with no mechanism or adequate resources in place to facilitate cooperation with other countries.

Conclusion

To strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime, Guinea must address these challenges by improving institutional reforms, enhancing national cooperation and coordination, and increasing financial intelligence and reporting. The country must also prioritize investigations and prosecutions, improve supervision and regulation, and enhance international cooperation. By doing so, Guinea can better combat money laundering and terrorist financing threats.