During a meeting with presidents of the Bar Association of Morocco on their role in activating legal provisions related to the fight against money laundering and terror financing, Ben Abdelkader said that his department has worked, at the legislative level, to promote greater commitment to international standards in this area through the revision of the penal Code and criminal procedure.

The minister cited the bill amending and supplementing Act No. 43.05 on money laundering, which had been submitted to the Committee on Justice, Legislation and Human Rights at the House of Representatives, in order to fill the gaps identified in the mutual evaluation report, with a view to bringing the laws into line with the 40 recommendations and related standards presented by the International Financial Action Task Force.

This bill, he said, introduces a number of new features, including an increase in the value of the minimum and maximum fine imposed on natural persons for money laundering offences, which is stipulated in Article 574-3 of the penal Code, in accordance with international standards that favor dissuasive penalties in this regard.

The organization of this meeting makes it possible, according to him, to publicize the legal provisions related to the fight against money laundering and terror financing, particularly the generalization of the results of the first report under the national assessment of the risks arising from the two phenomena, the conclusions of which should be taken into consideration by the legal and judicial professions.