Morocco Enlists Notaries in Fight Against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing

During the meeting organized under the theme, "The role of the notary in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism", Mr. Ben Abdelkader indicated that "the notary’s profession ensures the consolidation of the values of security and stability, not to mention that it involves many risks, particularly financial ones". The minister also stressed that the crimes of money laundering and terrorist financing have particular characteristics. To avoid this, the fight against this phenomenon and prevention require a distinct approach, taking into account the legal and institutional aspects.

The notarial profession is considered a pillar that ensures the stability of transactions and encourages investment, economic and social development. The minister thus called for the consolidation of the efforts of all financial and non-financial professions, through the implementation of the legal obligations imposed on the various legal professions in accordance with law n°13.10. This modifies and completes certain provisions of the Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and Law n°43.05, relating to the fight against money laundering.

For his part, the president of the financial intelligence processing unit, Jawhar Nfissi, affirmed that the notary profession occupies a fundamental position within the legal professions of the kingdom. He also stressed that the notary must actively engage in the anti-money laundering system.

The President of the National Council of Notaries of Morocco, Abdellatif Yagou, in turn, emphasized the importance that the Council attaches to the crimes of money laundering and terrorist financing, while stressing the importance of the notary profession in the implementation of public policies, reports panorapost.com.