BAM's Jouahri warns against terrorism financing, money laundering through new technologies

Wali of Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) said that the challenges and risks resulting from digitization are constantly growing, especially with the increase and acceleration of digital transactions in financial services.

In a speech during an international symposium entitled “Digital Transformation between Regulation and Competitiveness”, organized by the Competition Council, in Marrakesh, Wali spoke on the risks of using technologies for of money laundering and terrorist financing.

During the seminar, Jouahri reminded the community of the stakes of the great development of the finance digital revolution, which has expanded in recent years at the international level, and its effects on regulation and competition.

Jouahri was alerted to the risks related to consumer protection, as well as the increase in cyber-attacks targeting the financial sector.

The official highlighted that digital technology has profoundly affected patterns of production, distribution, exchange, and consumption, which inevitably had repercussions on competition, regulation, markets, innovation, employment, economic growth, society, and individuals.

Jouahri pointed out that these effects would lead to the emergence of new economic models, bearing new competitive and technical challenges that call for modern forms of economic regulation and governance.

In the face of this remarkable development, the head of Morocco’s central bank called on public authorities to intervene in order to maintain the legal suitability to ensure the conditions for the proper development of financial services.

Jouahri said that a number of countries have adopted laws to legalize digital services and technologies, including Britain, which launched a national digital strategy immediately after leaving the European Union, and Japan, which launched a law on transparency and justice in digital platforms.

The Wali stated that the Central Bank plays the role of the regulator for transactions, whether related to the public or private sector, saying: “We give importance to diversifying services, and we have also placed digital transformation within the bank’s strategy by developing a transparent and fair work system.”

With regard to banning digital currencies, the governor stated that “there are those who blame us for this decision,” noting that “there is a committee of various parties working on preparing a law to regulate these digital currencies, with the support of some international institutions and the participation of international banks that have already implemented such regulation and systems.”