Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has issued a mandatory directive for the public and business entities to deposit bulks of South Sudan pounds in their possession to licensed banks and to conduct transactions through licensed financial institutions.
The directive cited sections of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Act, 2012, which empowers the FIU to criminalize possession of illicit bulks cash and reporting large-cash transactions.
Issued by FIU Commissioner Abraham Telar, the order said all businesses shall deposit all SSP in their possession into a licensed bank or other institutions authorized by the Bank of South Sudan no later than May 9, 2025.
The directive added that “every payment whether domestic or cross-border must be executed exclusively through a duly licensed bank, micro-finance institution or payment service provider.”
The FIU further stated that failure to comply with the order constitutes a punishable offence under section 14 (d) of the AML/VFT Act.
The directive also warns that bulk SSP found outside the banking institution will be seized by security forces, while authorities will investigate the source of funds, tax compliance and potential money-laundering or terrorist-financing offences.
It added that offending entities risk license suspension or revocation, blacklisting and referral to South Sudan Revenue Authority for tax recovery.
Citing the law, FIU stated that possession of illicit bulk cash is punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years for individuals or a fine up to three times the value of the seized money for corporate entities in addition to sanctions imposed by the court.
Meanwhile, all banks, microfinance institutions and payment service providers are directed to give absolute priority to receiving, processing and crediting deposits denominated in South Sudan pounds over any routine business.
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