Moroccan customs has announced that gemstone transactions are now subject to new regulations. A new mechanism serves strengthening the fight against money-laundering.
“Concretely, when carrying out any transaction higher than 150,000 DH, dealers in precious stones and precious metals are required to identify customers or their agents and record information on the beneficiary concerned”, the Administration of Customs and Indirect Taxes (ADII) said in a statement.
In accordance with the note, this measure aims at putting an end to questionable transactions in order to align the national mechanism to combat money laundering and terrorist financing with the provisions of Law 12.18 on the fight against money laundering in Morocco.
The Act provides that “the Customs Administration is responsible for monitoring precious stones, precious metals, works of art, and antiquities, as persons subject to the law, i.e. they are obliged to apply internal measures of vigilance and control the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as reporting suspicions to the National Financial Reporting Authority”.
By Nouhaila El Bouhli