The anti-money laundering legal and operational ecosystem is getting stronger. After the adoption by the Board of
government, at the end of last November, of bill n° 12.18 amending and supplementing the Penal Code and the law on
the fight against money laundering, the Moroccan Capital Market Authority has just made public
its practical guide on the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The document raises awareness and
accompanies market participants for the "effective" implementation of obligations relating to the fight
against this scourge.
It is done. The Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC) has published its practical guide on the fight against
money laundering and terrorist financing (BC&FT). This guide is part of the
deployment of the roadmap drawn up by the capital market regulator with a view to raising awareness and
support market participants for the "effective" implementation of obligations relating to the fight against
against money laundering and terrorist financing. It presents in a didactic way the
legal and regulatory requirements incumbent on subject persons in order to protect them against any
exploitation for ML&FT purposes. “Money laundering and terrorist financing are
real threats that can damage a country's reputation and cause economic and social damage
considerable. The FATF recommendations remain the normative reference framework for the implementation
effective measures to prevent, detect and mitigate ML/FT threats. One of the components
Fundamental to the recommendations of the International Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the establishment of a
risk-based control approach. Thus, subject persons must understand, identify,
assess their ML/FT risks and take the appropriate mitigating measures while effectively allocating their
resources and efforts towards the highest risk areas”, explains the AMMC. Remember that to align
on these standards, the AMMC had published in September 2018 a circular on the obligations of vigilance and
internal monitoring incumbent on the organizations and persons subject to its control. Remember that the ecosystem
anti-money laundering legal system is expected to be reinforced with the adoption of bill n° 12.18 amending and
supplementing the Penal Code and the law on the fight against money laundering. The text adopted in
Council of Government at the end of last November plans to adopt new concepts and reformulate the
definitions in section 1
of Law No. 43.05 in the light of the requirements of international standards, without prejudice to the legal provisions
in force. This text also intends to strengthen vigilance measures and internal control and to implement
places accreditation rules with third parties in order to implement the provisions relating to the identification
customer and beneficial owner and to understand the nature of the business relationship.
How money is laundered
According to the AMMC guide, the money laundering process has three main stages. First of all,
the placement. Then stacking and then integration. Regarding the placement, it is the placement of the
proceeds of crime into the financial system without arousing suspicion. This can be done by splitting
large amounts of cash to obtain smaller, less suspicious sums which are then deposited
directly to a bank account or by acquiring various monetary instruments. As for
stacking, it refers to the movement of money, often in a series of financial transactions that can
sometimes transit through multiple accounts in an attempt to conceal the illegal source and give the appearance of
legitimacy. These transactions include the purchase of investment instruments, insurance contracts,
electronic transfers, etc. Finally, for integration, illicit funds enter the legitimate economy through the
through investments until the laundered funds are ultimately turned over to the criminal.