VZCZCXYZ0022
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDK #2796/01 3261524
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221524Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6937
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS DAKAR 002796 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL, AF, AF/RSA, AF/W, EB/ESC/TFS AND INR/AA 
JUSTICE FOR AFMLS, OIA AND OPDAT 
TREASURY FOR FINCEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN KCRM KTFN PTER SNAR SG
SUBJECT: 2006-2007 SENEGAL INCSR PART II: FINANCIAL 
CRIME AND MONEY LAUNDERING (SECOND OF TWO CABLES) 
 
REF: A. STATE 157136 
     ¶B. DAKAR 2789 
 
CONTINUATION OF NUMBERED QUESTIONS FROM REF A 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶17. (CONTINUED) [NOTE: THIS CABLE IS A CONTINUATION OF 
REF B. END NOTE.] 
 
ASSET FORFEITURE AND SEIZURE LEGISLATION 
---------------------------------------- 
Question 51: Has the country enacted laws and 
established systems for identifying, tracing, 
freezing, seizing, and forfeiting narcotics-related 
assets as well as assets derived from or intended for 
other serious crimes?  If so, please describe the 
authority (regulatory or judicial).  Are now 
legislation or changes in current laws, regulations, 
judicial or administrative authorities, being 
considered? 
 
-- The uniform AML law provides for the freezing, 
seizing, and confiscation of property by judicial 
order.  In addition, the FIU can order the suspension 
of the execution of a financial transaction for 48 
hours.  The BCEAO can also order the freezing of funds 
held by banks. 
 
Question 52: What are the obstacles or disincentives 
to enacting such laws, regulations, other authorities? 
 
-- Senegal is a civil law country.  As such, it does 
not have a tradition of civil forfeiture. 
 
Question 53: What are the major provisions in current 
and/or proposed legislation?  For example, what assets 
can be seized?  Do they include: instruments of crime 
such as conveyances used to transport narcotics, or 
farms on which illicit crops are grown or which are 
used to support terrorist activity, or intangible 
property such as bank accounts?  Can substitute assets 
be seized or must a relationship to the crime be 
proven? 
 
-- The uniform law allows the freezing, seizure and 
confiscation of any property, corporal or incorporeal, 
on order of the investigating judge as a conservation 
measure.  Upon conviction for money laundering or 
attempted money laundering, the law provides for 
obligatory confiscation of property that is the 
proceeds of laundering; property into which that 
property has been converted, commingled, invested or 
transformed; and any proceeds (income) derived from 
that property.  There is an exception for an owner who 
can establish that s/he was unaware of the illegal 
source of the property.  The court may also order, as 
penal sanctions, the confiscation of any property used 
or intended to be used in the offense, and the 
confiscation of other property of the convicted person 
(the latter does not appear to be ?substitute assets? 
as that term is understood in the U.S.; the provision 
does not relate the amount of licit property subject 
to confiscation to the amount laundered or put beyond 
the reach of the court). 
 
Question 54: Can legitimate businesses be seized if 
used to launder drug money, support terrorist 
activity, or are otherwise related to other criminal 
proceeds? 
 
-- The AML law provides as stated in the previous 
response.  Whether the business is involved in the 
offense, or subject to the innocent owner defense, 
would depend on the facts of the case.  A business 
that is convicted of laundering can be dissolved or 
closed.  The law has not been applied in this regard. 
 
Question 55: What government entities are responsible 
for tracing, seizing and freezing assets?  Is there a 
period of time ascribed to the action of freezing, 
after which the assets are released?  Are frozen 
assets confiscated?  If yes, by what government 
entity?  Who receives proceeds from asset seizures and 
forfeitures? 
 
-- The FIU can order a 48-hour freeze (in the form of 
a delay on the execution of a transaction).  Such 
 
 
action must be converted to a judicial order within 48 
hours or the freeze must be lifted.  As noted above, 
the investigating judge can issue orders freezing or 
seizing assets as a conservatory measure.  Confiscated 
property goes to the public treasury. 
 
Question 56: Does the banking community cooperate with 
enforcement efforts to trace funds and seize/freeze 
bank accounts? 
 
-- As far as is known, the banking community has been 
very cooperative with enforcement efforts to trace 
funds and seize/freeze bank accounts.  The banking 
community applauded the GOS decision to pass the 
uniform law on money laundering, which reduces banking 
secrecy.  All but two of the 59 suspicious activity 
declarations to date have come from the banking 
sector, and two transactions (wire transfers) have 
been stopped this year. 
 
Question 57: Does the law allow for civil as well as 
criminal forfeiture? 
 
-- The uniform law allows explicitly for criminal 
forfeiture.  There is no provision for American-style 
civil forfeiture.  It is not clear what happens to 
property seized if no prosecution results and no owner 
is identified. 
 
Question 58: Does the Government enforce existing 
drug-related asset seizure and forfeiture laws?  Does 
the jurisdiction have adequate police powers and 
resources to trace, seize and freeze assets?  If so, 
can the jurisdiction freeze assets without undue 
delay? 
 
-- Customs seizures are common; the number of 
confiscations is not known. 
 
Question 59: Does the government have an independent 
system and mechanism for freezing terrorist assets? 
 
-- Though the Government does not have an independent 
system and mechanism for freezing terrorist assets, 
there are several entities including the BCEAO, 
financial entities such as banks (upon request from 
the Government officials or the BCEAO), and the 
Ministries of Justice and Interior can order the 
freezing of terrorist assets. 
 
Question 60: What was the dollar amount of non- 
terrorist related assets frozen, forfeited and/or 
seized in the past year?  How does this amount compare 
to amounts seized in previous years? 
 
-- Statistics on the value of seized assets are 
unavailable. 
 
Question 61: Has the country enacted laws for the 
sharing of seized narcotics assets, as well as the 
assets from other serious crimes with other 
governments? 
 
-- The uniform law provides that the sharing of seized 
narcotics assets with other governments can be 
negotiated on a case-by-case basis. 
 
Question 62: Is the Government engaged in bilateral or 
multilateral negotiations with other governments to 
enhance asset tracing freezing and seizure? 
 
-- Senegal is required by the uniform law on money 
laundering to freely exchange information with the 
FIUs of each of the WAEMU countries, although at 
present only Senegal and Niger have a functioning FIU. 
The FIU has signed MOUs with the FIUs in Belgium, 
Lebanon and Nigeria and has begun negotiations with 
other countries including France and Monaco.  Senegal 
hopes to join the Egmont Group in 2007. 
 
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 
------------------------- 
Question 63: Has the country adopted laws or 
regulations that allows for the exchange of records 
with the United States on narcotics and narcotics 
related money laundering, as well all-source money 
 
laundering, terrorism and terrorist financing 
investigations and proceedings?  Has the jurisdiction 
reached agreement with the United States authorities 
on a mechanism for exchange of records in connection 
with such investigations and proceedings?  If not, is 
the country negotiating in good faith with the United 
States to establish such an exchange mechanism?  Does 
the jurisdiction have similar arrangements with other 
jurisdictions? 
 
-- With respect to money laundering, the uniform AML 
law provides that the FIU may enter into cooperation 
accords with other FIUs.  The Senegalese FIU will soon 
begin this process with FinCen.  The law also contains 
extensive provisions for the exchange of information 
on a judicial level.  These provisions comport with 
international standards. 
 
Question 64: Identify all treaties, agreements, or 
other mechanisms for information exchange that host 
country has entered into with the USG or other 
countries, including agreements between the FIU and 
its counterparts, and those with home country 
supervisors to facilitate the exchange of supervisory 
information regarding banks and trust companies 
operating in the host country.  Describe the status of 
efforts to update such agreements or arrangements. 
 
-- To Mission?s knowledge, Senegal has entered into 
agreements with a number of countries (Tunisia, 
Morocco and France), and through ECOWAS, regarding 
mutual assistance in criminal matters.  Regarding the 
FIU, as stated above, Senegal currently has agreements 
with the FIUs in Belgium, Lebanon and Nigeria. 
Senegal hopes to join the Egmont Group in 2007. 
 
Question 65: Has the country cooperated, when 
requested, with appropriate law enforcement agencies 
of the USG and other governments investigating 
financial crimes related to narcotics, terrorism, 
terrorist financing and other crimes?  If the country 
has cooperated on important cases with USG agencies, 
please describe. 
 
Mission knows of no instance where the USG has 
requested such cooperation, but in general Senegalese 
authorities have demonstrated their commitment and 
willingness to cooperate. 
 
Question 66: Please detail any instances of refusals 
to cooperate with foreign governments, as well as any 
action taken by the USG and any international 
organization to address such obstacles, including the 
imposition of sanctions or penalties? 
 
-- Mission is unaware of any refusals to cooperate 
with foreign governments in routine cases. 
 
Question 67: Is the country a party to the UN 
International Convention against Illicit Traffic in 
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Vienna 
Convention), the UN Convention against Transnational 
Organized Crime, and, the UN Convention against 
Corruption or other applicable agreements and 
conventions?  Does it adhere to relevant international 
money laundering standards, such as the 
recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, 
the policy directive of the EC, and the legislative 
guidelines of the OAS and/or other similar 
declarations?  If so, what steps is it taking to 
implement them?  If not, what, if any, steps are the 
country taking to become a party or implement? 
 
-- Senegal is a party to the UN International 
Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs 
and Psychotropic Substances (Vienna Convention), the 
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the 
1999 International Convention for the Suppression of 
the Financing of Terrorism, and the Convention against 
Corruption.  Senegal accepts the recommendations of 
the FATF, and is attempting to implement them through, 
inter alia, the adoption of the uniform law and the 
operationalization of the first FIU in the region. 
Senegal is waiting for BCEAO/WAEMU action on the 
criminalization of terrorist financing. 
 
UPDATES TO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FROM 2005 INSCR 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Question: Does the jurisdiction have the authority to 
identify, freeze, seize and/or forfeit terrorist 
finance?related assets?  If so, please describe the 
authority invoked (regulatory, legislative, judicial, 
administrative). 
 
-- Pursuant to a September 19, 2002 BCEAO directive, 
banks are required to freeze assets of UN-designated 
terrorists and terrorist entities.  There are no 
provisions for seizing and/or forfeiting terrorist 
financing-related assets. 
 
Question: Has the jurisdiction become a party to the 
1999 International Convention for the Suppression of 
the Financing of Terrorism? 
 
-- Yes.  Moreover, the draft BCEAO directive on 
terrorist financing adopts the definition of terrorism 
found in the Convention. 
 
Jacobs