Case Guides

1、 ; Related legislation;

Egypt's anti money laundering laws are mainly governed by the Anti Money Laundering Law No. 80 of 2002 and its subsequent amendments. These laws are aimed at preventing, detecting, and prosecuting money laundering activities, and are supervised by the Egyptian Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Unit (EMLCU).

Anti Money Laundering Law No. 80 of 2002:; This law outlines the definition of money laundering, establishes a legal framework to combat such activities, and provides penalties for illegal activities.

Regulations of the Central Bank of Egypt:; The central bank implements additional regulations and guidelines for financial institutions to prevent money laundering, including requirements for customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, and reporting of suspicious activities.

The latest anti money laundering regulations include the Anti Money Laundering Law (Law No. 80, 2016) and its amendments (Law No. 20, 2019), as well as the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Enforcement Regulations (Presidential Decree No. 89, 2019).

These laws and regulations clearly stipulate that financial institutions, non-financial institutions, and non-profit organizations must comply with the following anti money laundering obligations:;

• Implement customer due diligence, including identifying customer identity, beneficial owners, agents, etc., and classify management based on risk levels.
• Monitor and report large and suspicious transactions.
• Retain customer identity information and transaction records.
• Provide information and assistance in accordance with the requirements of regulatory and investigative departments.

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2、 Related supervision;

The main regulatory agencies for anti money laundering are:;

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE); /strong>

As the monetary authority of the country, the main responsibility of the central bank is to supervise the banking industry. The other regulatory functions of the central bank include issuing guidelines and ensuring that the banking industry complies with anti money laundering laws.

Egyptian Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Unit (EMLCU); /strong>

EMLCU is an independent department under the Central Bank of Egypt responsible for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. This department is responsible for collecting and analyzing data related to suspicious transactions, and coordinating with law enforcement agencies and other relevant entities.

Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA); /strong>

Although its main responsibility is to regulate non bank financial markets and instruments, FRA also ensures compliance with anti money laundering laws in areas such as insurance, stock markets, and other non bank financial entities.

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3、 Corporate compliance recommendations;

Customer Due Diligence (CDD); /strong>

Financial institutions and designated non-financial corporations and professionals (DNFBPs) must take thorough customer due diligence measures when establishing business relationships with clients. This includes identifying customers, verifying their identity using reliable sources, and evaluating the nature of their business.

Report Suspicious Transactions;

Entities subject to anti money laundering regulations must promptly report any suspicious transactions to MLCU. The report should be conducted without disclosing it to the client. MLCU is responsible for analyzing these reports and taking appropriate action when there is suspicion of money laundering.

Save relevant records;

All financial institutions and specific non-financial enterprises must keep transaction records, customer identity data, and other relevant documents within the prescribed period in accordance with legal regulations. This ensures that transaction leads are available for regulatory review and investigation.

Training; Employee;

Employees of financial institutions and specific non-financial practitioners should receive regular training and awareness programs on anti money laundering regulations and procedures. This helps ensure that employees fully understand and are able to identify suspicious activities.

Conduct risk assessment;

Encourage entities subject to anti money laundering regulations to adopt a risk-based approach to comply with anti money laundering regulations. This means assessing and reducing money laundering risks based on the nature and complexity of their business activities.

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Reference citation:;

Payment Series Lecture 3: Egypt's Anti Money Laundering and Trade Response Points;

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