GITEGA, February 27th (ABP) – The upper house of the Burundian parliament, meeting in plenary session that Friday 21 February 2025 at the hemicycle of Gitega (political capital and center of Burundi), unanimously adopted the bill amending law no. 1/02 of 04 February 2008 on the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Nestor Ntahontuye, was the representative of the Government of Burundi to explain to the Senators the importance of that bill.
He told the Senators that the old bill had shortcomings, but that the new bill aimed to modernise the
new bill aims to modernise the legislative framework in a spirit of cooperation with other States in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, taking into account recent developments in criminal practices and technological challenges.
He pointed out that that revised bill will update the watch lists; criminalise money laundering; recover illicit assets in the event of money laundering; strengthen the monitoring of high-risk sectors by identifying high-risk economic sectors and strengthening compliance obligations for businesses operating in that sector.
The Chairman of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, the Environment, Finance and the Budget, Pacifique Ndihokubwayo, in presenting the committee’s analysis report, said that the adoption and promulgation of that bill would demonstrate the Burundi government’s determination to comply with international standards as recommended by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which imposes strict obligations on financial institutions, companies and designated non-financial professions in terms of customer identification, the reporting of suspicious transactions and cooperation with the regulatory authorities.
Taking the floor, the senators wanted to know how that bill will punish public officials who have allegedly embezzled public funds but who, for the most part, could be introduced into the financial system by creating financial institutions and reintroduced into the economy in the form of their own investment by constructing overpriced buildings and other businesses.
In that regard, Minister Ntahontuye indicated that the prosecution of those agents will be carried out in accordance with the intelligence rules and practices implemented by the unit. According to him, those include the financial flows of money laundering suspects, related investigations, and procedures for freezing and seizing their assets in accordance with the law. They are also referred to the competent courts if necessary, he added.
After the question-and-answer session, the senators unanimously adopted the bill and the proposed amendments.