In a decisive move to combat illicit financial activity, Algeria has unveiled a robust legislative initiative aimed at strengthening the country’s anti-money laundering framework.
The effort comes amid alarming global estimates from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which place the scale of money laundering between 2% and 5% of global GDP—over €2.8 trillion annually.
With digital technologies increasingly exploited to mask illegal transactions, Algerian authorities are intensifying efforts to detect and deter financial crimes that fuel underground markets, support organized crime, and undermine public revenues essential for national development.
Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaâ introduced the new bill to the National People’s Assembly, marking what the government describes as a paradigm shift.
“This initiative modernizes our financial surveillance systems and aligns them with the highest international standards,” he stated.
The legislation proposes harsher criminal and financial penalties for offenders and grants expanded powers to law enforcement and financial prosecutors to monitor and investigate suspicious transactions more efficiently.
A significant component of the bill focuses on the regulation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and humanitarian associations.
Authorities suspect some entities are diverting from their stated missions and acting as conduits for illegal fund transfers. The proposed law empowers the National Coordination Committee to play a strategic role in identifying and mitigating financial risks across the country.
Complementing the legislative push is the implementation of the National Register of Beneficial Owners, a digital transparency tool launched in 2023.
The register mandates that all companies and legal entities disclose their full ownership structures, enabling authorities to track potentially suspicious financial flows with greater precision.
As Algeria seeks to protect its financial system from abuse, the new measures represent a sweeping effort to close regulatory loopholes, enhance transparency, and restore public confidence in the integrity of its economic institutions.
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