The powers of the National Financial Intelligence Authority (ANRF) have been strengthened to enable it to carry out its mission in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Created to replace the Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (UTRF) which had existed since 2009, the ANRF’s essential mission is to analyze and transmit to the administrative and judicial authorities, at their request or on its own initiative, information on money laundering and terrorist financing offenses.
According to Law 12-18 amending and supplementing Law 43-05 on the fight against money laundering, it is the central body in the national system for the fight against money laundering. As such, it must ensure national coordination between ministries, public institutions, and legal persons governed by public or private law in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The ANRF must also ensure compliance with legal provisions on money laundering and terrorist financing by the persons subject to it, and send them general recommendations or guidelines. According to the annual report of the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the ANRF has already received 28 requests for information and transmitted 71 suspicious money laundering files to the king’s prosecutor at the Rabat Court of the first instance.
The courts of the first instance of Marrakech, Casablanca, and Fez are also competent to hear cases of money laundering offenses. Moreover, in addition to the representatives of the Ministries of Justice, Finance and the Interior, those of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Defense Administration, Bank Al-Maghrib, the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the AMCC, the ACAPS, the DGED, the DGSN, the DGST, the Exchange Office, the DGI and the staff of the Royal Gendarmerie now sit on the Board of the ANRF.
