Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Laws in Syria

Overview

Syria has implemented AML/CFT laws and regulations to criminalize money laundering (ML) offenses. However, there are deficiencies in these laws and regulations that hinder their effectiveness.

Efforts to Criminalize Money Laundering Offenses

The Syrian government has made efforts to criminalize ML offenses through the implementation of AML/CFT laws and regulations. The key points related to this effort are outlined below:

Key Points

• The Syrian government has implemented AML/CFT laws and regulations to criminalize ML offenses, as listed in Table 1.
• These laws and regulations aim to prevent and combat ML/TF offenses.

Deficiencies in the AML/CFT Laws and Regulations

Despite the efforts made by the Syrian government, there are still deficiencies in the AML/CFT laws and regulations. The key points related to these deficiencies are outlined below:

Key Points

• Financial Institutions (FIs) are not required to provide customer identification records to relevant authorities.
• Obligations related to Customer Identification Verification (CIV) applied in cases of dealing through agents and verification of legal situations of legal persons or arrangements on banks operating only in the country are not specified.
• Insurance companies, exchange institutions, and other FIs are not obligated to verify the identity of beneficial owners, identify natural persons owning legal persons or exercising ultimate effective control over them, and perform ongoing supervision operations.

Recommendations for Improvement

To address these deficiencies, the Syrian government can consider implementing additional laws and regulations that require FIs to provide customer identification records to relevant authorities. Additionally, they can specify obligations related to CIV applied in cases of dealing through agents and verification of legal situations of legal persons or arrangements on banks operating only in the country. Furthermore, they can obligate insurance companies, exchange institutions, and other FIs to verify the identity of beneficial owners, identify natural persons owning legal persons or exercising ultimate effective control over them, and perform ongoing supervision operations.

Key Actions

• Implement additional laws and regulations that require FIs to provide customer identification records to relevant authorities.
• Specify obligations related to CIV applied in cases of dealing through agents and verification of legal situations of legal persons or arrangements on banks operating only in the country.
• Obligate insurance companies, exchange institutions, and other FIs to verify the identity of beneficial owners, identify natural persons owning legal persons or exercising ultimate effective control over them, and perform ongoing supervision operations.

By implementing these additional laws and regulations, the Syrian government can strengthen its AML/CFT framework and better prevent and combat ML/TF offenses.