The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has issued new guidelines to fight money laundering and terrorism financing, replacing the regulations issued in 2008. In regulatory instructions to banks today, the Central Bank announced the repeal of the regulations related to these matters issued in 2008, giving banks six months to adjust their operations to the new guidelines.
The Central Bank explained that these guidelines were developed in light of legislative and regulatory developments over the past years. They align with amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Law (Law No. 80 of 2002) and its executive regulations (Prime Minister’s Decision No. 951 of 2003). Moreover, they consider the issuance of the Central Bank and Banking System Law (Law No. 194 of 2020) and other relevant laws. Additionally, changes were made to the due diligence procedures for bank clients by the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Unit in February 2020.
The new guidelines are part of the Central Bank’s commitment to keeping up with international standards in fighting money laundering and terrorism financing, adopting the best international practices in the field, and enhancing existing practices.
The Central Bank stressed that these guidelines, along with due diligence procedures issued by the unit related to bank clients, financial inclusion products and services, mobile payment services, and prepaid card services, represent the minimum requirements that banks must follow. Banks are required to implement additional measures in line with their adopted risk assessments.
The Central Bank confirmed that these guidelines apply to all banks operating in Egypt and their branches abroad, including branches of foreign banks operating in Egypt. It emphasized that banks must ensure that their foreign branches and majority-owned subsidiaries apply anti-money laundering and terrorism financing measures in accordance with Egypt’s requirements. If these measures are stricter than those applied in the host country and do not conflict with local laws or regulatory instructions, the bank, including its foreign branches and subsidiaries, must implement additional appropriate procedures to manage money laundering and terrorism financing risks and inform the Central Bank of these actions.
