Prime Minister calls on BCT and CTAF to redouble efforts to combat suspicious foreign transfers

Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani on Monday called on the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) and the Tunisian Financial Analysis Committee (CTAF) to redouble their efforts to combat the phenomenon of suspicious foreign transfers by stepping up monitoring and tracking of financial transactions. Hachani chaired a working session on suspicious foreign funds at the Government Palace in the Kasbah on Monday, in the presence of BCT Governor Fathi Zouhair Nouri and CTAF Secretary General Naila Fathallah. Hachani emphasised the unity of the Tunisian state and the harmonious work of all its institutions, particularly with regard to combating the phenomenon of the transfer and flow of suspect foreign funds, according to a statement from the Prime Ministry. He underlined the key role of the BCT, the Financial Analysis Committee, as well as banks and financial institutions in monitoring and combating suspicious foreign funds that could harm security and public order in Tunisia. In a related context, he noted that national sove reignty is a priority for the Tunisian State, which is keen to counter any attempts to violate it from abroad and to interfere in its internal affairs through the financing of certain associations or organisations. Participants in the meeting stressed that Tunisia, like any other country in the world, has a legal arsenal that takes into account the legislation emanating from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). They added that these laws enable them to combat money laundering and the manipulation of legally allocated funds used for purposes that could undermine national security by financing certain associations and organisations. During his meeting with the Governor of the Central Bank, Fathi Zouhair Nouri on March 8, 2024, President Kais Saied called for the necessary measures to be taken at the level of the Financial Analysis Committee to monitor the sources of funds from suspicious circles that flow to associations from abroad. Saied had previously, on September 8, 2023, stressed the need for the T unisian Financial Analysis Committee to trace funds and transfers and to combat disguised funding. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse