• Multimedia
• Blog
• Subscribe
• What's New
• Contact Us
• Archive

Bookmark

• Topic
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L

  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • XYZ

  
  Select the list of topics to display.
• Country
  • A-B
  • C-E
  • F-K
  • L-O
  • P-S
  • T-Z
  • Regions

  Please choose a country or other area, or a Region.
• Publication Type
• Speaker
  • A-C
  • D-K
  • L-R
  • S-Z
• Date
  • • Most Recent
    • Past 7 days
    • Past 90 days

International Narcotics Control Strategy Report: Volume II: Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

Tunisia

International Narcotics Control Strategy Report -2005
Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
March 2005

Volume II: Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

In December 2003, the Tunisian Parliament passed Law No. 2003-75, a comprehensive counterterrorism and anti-money laundering law, to support international counterterrorism efforts and to establish more severe sentences for individuals convicted of terrorist acts. This law makes it a crime to provide financial assistance or any other type of support to terrorist activities, and provides for the freezing of assets. Those suspected of violating the law can be exempted from charges, however, if they report a planned terrorist action to authorities.

Money laundering is punishable where false information is proffered relating to the illicit origin of property or income arising directly or indirectly from an offense. Money laundering also includes investing, depositing, transferring or safekeeping of property or income resulting from an offense. The law imposes obligations on financial institutions relating to identity checks, verification of transactions of suspect persons, record keeping and the declaration of transactions above certain monetary limits. The Ministry of Finance oversees operations to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Tunisian penal code also allows for the sequestering, confiscating, or seizure of assets and property in certain situations, including narcotics-trafficking and terrorist activities. The definition of "assets" is quite broad and could cover any number of financial or physical assets. Financial assets are traced by the Central Bank and the Economic Enforcement Agency, each of which has broad powers for investigating and seizing financial assets. Tunisia has no legal provisions for sharing seized criminal assets with other governments.

Financial institutions are required to gather full identifying information for personal and business accounts. In addition, all supporting documentation must be maintained for 10 years. Only certain categories of individuals and businesses are allowed to open foreign currency or convertible dinar accounts and all of these accounts are monitored by the Central Bank. Because there is no law against money laundering in general, there is no obligation for a financial institution to report suspicious activities or provisions for holding bankers responsible if their institution is used for money laundering. However, the prevailing practice is for institutions to verbally report any unusual activity to the Central Bank, which will notify the investigative Economic Enforcement Agency. There are no "secret" or numbered accounts allowed in Tunisia.

Offshore financial institutions are held to the same regulatory standards as onshore institutions. Offshore institutions undergo the same due diligence process as onshore banks and are licensed only after the Central Bank investigates their references and the Ministry of Finance approves their application. Tunisian law also makes provisions for "moral integrity" checks of major shareholders, directors, and officers of financial institutions at any time doubts may arise. Anonymous directors are not allowed. Tunisia currently has 8 offshore banks. There is foreign participation in over 2,600 Tunisian companies (2003 figures). There are several casinos in Tunisia, but Tunisians are not permitted to use them. The export of Tunisian dinars, by either residents or nonresidents, is strictly prohibited. Bearer financial instruments or shares are prohibited (Act No. 35 of 2000).

Although the Tunisian government maintains that there are no alternative fund transfer systems, since all fund transfers must go through the banks or National Post Office, it is precisely due to these restrictions and currency exchange controls that there are underground methods of moving money or transferring value in and out of the country. While a significant black market in consumer goods does exist in the country, there is no evidence that this trade is funded by illicit proceeds. Residents are generally prohibited from holding or exporting foreign currency except in certain cases (travel or business needs, etc.) Nonresidents entering Tunisia with foreign currency or other instruments are required to declare the total amount if they wish to re-export a portion (not exceeding 1,000 dinar or approximately $840) or deposit any of the money in a Tunisian bank. Nonresidents do not need to declare currency exports under 1,000 dinar. Customs may at any time require declarations for gold or securities.

Tunisia is a founding member of the Middle East North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) based in Bahrain and approved in November 2004 by the governments of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The MENAFATF is a FATF-style regional body that will address money laundering and terrorist financing related issues and work to raise compliance standards throughout the region to meet international standards.

Tunisia is a party to both the 1988 UN Drug Convention and the 1999 UN International Convention for the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism. It has signed and ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The Central Bank has circulated the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee's consolidated list to all of its financial institutions. To date no terrorist assets have been identified in Tunisia. Tunisia has varying bilateral agreements on "criminal matters" with 29 countries and is party to 12 international agreements on counterterrorism.

The Government of Tunisia should continue its efforts to implement its comprehensive 2003 legislation. It should establish a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and require financial institutions to report suspicious transactions to that unit.