(From allAfrica.com) Maputo — The Mozambican government on Thursday approved a set of regulations, incorporated into the 2013 law against money laundering, intended to combat organised crime, and particularly any financing of terrorist activities.

Briefing reporters after a meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), the government spokesperson, Deputy Justice Minister Alberto Nkutumula, said that an earlier law on the same subject, dating from 2002, was no longer adequate precisely because it did not contain mechanisms for preventing and combating the funding of terrorism.

The main change in the new regulations is that it will become more difficult to deposit large sums of cash in the Mozambican banking system. Anyone who wishes to deposit more than 500,000 meticais (about 16,500 US dollars), must identify him or herself and explain where the money came from.

Nkutumula explained that if, for example, somebody sold a house for two million meticais, and wished to deposit the money, he would have to prove to the bank that the money did indeed come from the sale. In addition, he must prove that the money used by the purchaser to buy the house was itself acquired legitimately.

If the money was being deposited by a company, the company officials responsible must be identified. In some cases, added Nkutumula, the partners in the company must also be identified “particularly when they own 20 per cent or more of the share capital”.

Banks are also expected to alert their staff to the type of banking operations regarded as suspect so that, if these occur, investigations can be initiated to prove whether the operation is legitimate or not.

The government has given the banks and other financial institutions a three month deadline to put in place the mechanisms to enforce the new rules against money laundering.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201408230069.html