Crypto ATM / kiosk operator in Cameroon

This was true when written but is no longer. A legal framework exists: Reglement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/COSUMAF du 21 juillet 2022 (in force 1 August 2022) introduced 'jetons numeriques' and 'actifs numeriques' into CEMAC market law (arts. 76 and 160), and the COSUMAF Reglement general du 23 mai 2023 (in force 24 May 2023) created the PSAN regime — exploitation d'une plateforme de negociation d'actifs numeriques is an enumerated service requiring COSUMAF agrement. Reglement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM du 20 decembre 2024, art. 42(1), separately forbids exercising VASP activity without prior approval. What remains true is the practical conclusion: no implementing instructions have been issued, no licensed PSAN is publicly known, and COBAC D-2022/071 still denies exchanges access to banking services.

A VASP/PSAN authorisation regime does exist and covers Cameroon, at CEMAC level. (i) The COSUMAF Reglement general du 23 mai 2023 (in force 24 May 2023) creates the prestataire de services sur actifs numeriques status, defines jetons numeriques functionally (art. 336: 'tout bien incorporel representant, sous forme numerique, un ou plusieurs droits'), reserves digital-token placement to PSAN, and requires COSUMAF agrement for buying/selling digital assets against legal currency, third-party custody, operating a trading platform, order reception/transmission, portfolio management, advice and placement. (ii) Reglement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM du 20 decembre 2024 defines 'actifs virtuels' and 'prestataires de services d'actifs virtuels', makes them assujettis, and at art. 42(1) provides that no one may carry on VASP activity professionally without prior approval or authorisation from the competent authority (art. 39: 10-year record retention; art. 42(5)(a): originator/beneficiary travel-rule information). The record's practical conclusion is nevertheless close to reality: no implementing instructions have been published, no PSAN agrement is publicly known, and COBAC D-2022/071 continues to prohibit supervised institutions from any crypto dealing. The accurate framing is 'a regime exists in law but is not operational', not 'no regime exists'.

Second half is correct: COBAC-supervised institutions (banks, microfinance, payment institutions, bureaux de change) are prohibited by Decision COBAC D-2022/071 from holding, exchanging or converting crypto-assets, so regulated-sector custody is indeed impossible. First half is wrong as of 2026: 'conservation d'actifs numeriques pour le compte de tiers' is an enumerated PSAN service under the COSUMAF Reglement general du 23 mai 2023 and requires COSUMAF agrement, and the CEMAC VASP definition in Reglement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM expressly covers safekeeping of virtual assets.

Substantially right, with the issuer mis-stated. Payment services and e-money in CEMAC are governed by Reglement n° 04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC du 21 decembre 2018 relatif aux services de paiement dans la CEMAC (with COBAC prudential norms, e.g. Reglement COBAC R-2019/02 for etablissements de paiement); the licensing/prudential authority is COBAC, not BEAC alone. Etablissements de paiement are among the assujettis covered by COBAC D-2022/071 and so may not handle crypto-assets, and there is indeed no crypto-specific payment licence at the COBAC layer.

Lack of Legal Tender Status: Cryptocurrencies are not recognized as legal tender within the CEMAC zone.

Local Presence: For most regulated financial activities in Cameroon, a local corporate entity and physical presence are mandatory. This would likely extend to any future crypto licensing.

Entities seeking to operate in the crypto space would likely face a lack of legal recognition and significant operational hurdles, particularly concerning banking relationships.

Evidence fact cm.licensing.beac-communiqu-on-cryptocurrencies-december not found (may have been renamed).

The substantive claim is right but the instrument identity is wrong. There is no "Regulation No. 02/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/22" and no 2022 CEMAC AML regulation. The instrument is Reglement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM, signed at Libreville on 20 December 2024 (CEMAC/UMAC Ministerial Committee, extraordinary session), effective on signature and abrogating all contrary provisions of Reglement n° 01/CEMAC/UMAC/CM du 11 avril 2016. It does define virtual assets - art. 2(72): "Digital representation of a value that can be digitally traded, transferred or used for payment or investment purposes... does not include digital representations of fiat currencies, securities and other financial assets already covered by specific regulatory provisions" - and defines prestataires de services d'actifs virtuels; art. 6(e) lists "virtual or digital asset service providers" among the assujettis, so VASPs carry the same AML/CFT obligations as financial institutions. It is a FATF-aligned revision (approved by GABAC Plenary Resolution No. 10 of 28 September 2024). The 2022 CEMAC instrument that touches digital assets is a different one: Reglement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/COSUMAF du 21 juillet 2022 on the regional financial market.

Loi n° 2016/007 du 12 juillet 2016 is Cameroon's Code Penal, not an AML/CFT law, and it did not create ANIF. Cameroon has no standalone national AML/CFT statute: the framework is the directly applicable CEMAC regulation - today Reglement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM du 20 decembre 2024, previously Reglement n° 01/CEMAC/UMAC/CM du 11 avril 2016 and before that Reglement n° 01/03-CEMAC-UMAC-CM du 4 avril 2003 - supplemented for supervised financial institutions by Reglement COBAC R-2023/01 on LBC/FT diligences (in force 1 July 2024). ANIF was created by Decret n° 2005/187 du 31 mai 2005 (organisation and functioning of the Agence Nationale d'Investigation Financiere), operational since January 2006 and attached to the Ministere des Finances; its regional legal basis is art. 25 of Reglement n° 01/03-CEMAC-UMAC-CM, which instituted an ANIF in every Central African state.

Evidence fact cm.aml.identification-and-verification-of-customers not found (may have been renamed).

Verifying identity before establishing a business relationship or conducting transactions above a certain threshold (often EUR 1,000 or equivalent).

Verifying identity using independent and reliable sources (e.g., government-issued ID documents, official registries).

Evidence fact cm.aml.identification-of-beneficial-owners not found (may have been renamed).

Identifying the natural person(s) who ultimately own or control the customer (typically 25% ownership or more, or effective control).

Continuously monitoring business relationships and transactions to ensure they are consistent with the VASP's knowledge of the customer, their business, and their risk profile, including, where necessary, the source of funds.

Updating customer information and documentation regularly.

Evidence fact cm.aml.applying-edd-measures-for-high-risk not found (may have been renamed).

Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and their family members/close associates.

Complex, unusually large transactions, or unusual patterns of transactions that have no apparent economic or lawful purpose.

Business relationships with non-face-to-face customers (where additional risk factors are present).

Reporting Obligation: VASPs must report any transaction (or attempted transaction) that they suspect, or have reasonable grounds to suspect, is related to money laundering or terrorist financing, regardless of the amount.

Reporting Body: Reports must be made to the Agence Nationale d'Investigation Financière (ANIF), Cameroon's FIU.

Timing: Reports must be submitted "without delay" once suspicion is formed.

Il n'existe aucune interdiction générale des crypto-actifs en zone CEMAC et la BEAC n'a émis aucun texte d'interdiction. La mesure de 2022 est la Décision COBAC D-2022/071 du 6 mai 2022, prise par la COBAC (superviseur bancaire), qui interdit aux seuls établissements assujettis à la COBAC de détenir, utiliser, échanger ou convertir des cryptoactifs pour compte propre ou pour compte de clients, de les comptabiliser au bilan, et leur impose un dispositif de détection et une remontée d'information à la COBAC et à la BEAC. Les personnes physiques et les entreprises non assujetties ne sont pas visées. À l'inverse, le Règlement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM du 21 juillet 2022 (en vigueur le 1er août 2022) admet les 'actifs numériques' et 'jetons numériques' sur le marché financier d'Afrique centrale et soumet les prestataires de services sur actifs numériques à l'agrément de la COSUMAF.

Date: May 6, 2022

Aucune prohibition générale des activités liées aux crypto-actifs n'a été établie en zone CEMAC. L'exploitation d'une plateforme d'échange n'est pas 'hautement illégale' : elle constitue au contraire un service sur actifs numériques soumis à l'agrément de la COSUMAF depuis le Règlement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM du 21 juillet 2022 et le Règlement Général COSUMAF du 23 mai 2023. Le minage n'est visé par aucun texte CEMAC. Seuls les établissements assujettis à la COBAC sont soumis à une interdiction, en vertu de la Décision COBAC D-2022/071.

Enforcement against crypto-related Ponzi schemes/fraudulent operations.

Émile Parfait Simb a été interpellé le 26 mai 2022 à l'aéroport de Douala sur mandat du parquet de Yaoundé, puis remis en liberté sous caution le 28 mai 2022 ; il a ensuite quitté le Cameroun pour la République centrafricaine. Il n'y a pas eu de détention prolongée au Cameroun. L'arrestation de 'complices' au Cameroun n'est étayée par aucune source vérifiée.

Seizure of assets belonging to the company and its founders (e.g., properties, vehicles, bank accounts).

Evidence fact cm.enforcement.no-comprehensive-regulatory-framework-targeting not found (may have been renamed).