Central Bank of Tunisia Strengthens Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Regulations
The Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) has published Circular No. 2025-17, which reinforces and expands the internal control rules imposed on banks and financial institutions to combat money laundering, terrorism financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This new regulation introduces a more structured and demanding approach to risk assessment.
Key Provisions
- Financial institutions are now required to establish a formal system for identifying, evaluating, and mitigating risks related to money laundering, terrorism financing, and the financing of weapons of mass destruction.
- The risk assessment must consider the customer profile, products and services offered, technologies used, and geographical areas involved in operations.
- These assessments must be documented in a report updated at least every three years, or more frequently in case of regulatory changes or new risks identified at the national or international level.
- Institutions must be able to justify the relevance of their analyses and the effectiveness of the measures implemented at any time to the Central Bank.
Definition of Risk and Operational Requirements
- The circular provides a clear definition of the risk of financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which includes any breach or circumvention of targeted financial sanctions decided by the United Nations, including the obligation to immediately freeze the assets of designated individuals or entities.
- On an operational level, the BCT strengthens reporting obligations. Suspicious transactions must be reported immediately via the goAML platform, in accordance with procedures defined by the Tunisian Financial Analysis Commission (CTAF).
- Institutions are also required to transmit to the Central Bank, on a quarterly basis, a detailed statement of frozen assets, whether they relate to UN sanctions or national decisions related to the fight against terrorism.
Governance and Compliance
- The rules for combating money laundering and terrorism financing are now integrated into the code of ethics of financial institutions.
- The designation of a correspondent and their alternate to the CTAF must be communicated to the BCT within a maximum of five days.
- The circular also simplifies certain customer identification data, with the removal of the mention "number of children," while strengthening prudential and statistical reporting related to internal control mechanisms.
Implementation and Impact
- Circular No. 2025-17 comes into effect immediately upon publication, marking a new step in strengthening the transparency and compliance of the Tunisian financial sector in an international context where vigilance against illicit financial flows has become a non-negotiable standard.
