Law on the Organisation and Operation of the Financial Intelligence Unit (UCREF)

UCREF is Haiti's financial intelligence unit: the body to which banks and other reporting entities send suspicious transaction reports, which analyzes them, and which refers matters onward. This law restates its organization and operation, replacing the earlier basis and aligning the unit with the anti-money-laundering framework that had been rebuilt over the preceding years. Its preamble cites the amended Constitution of 29 March (articles 111, 111-1, 136, 234 and 236), the Penal Code, and the law of 17 August 1979 creating and organizing the central bank, among other sources. The law matters beyond financial regulation: UCREF reports have been a recurring element of Haitian political and corruption controversy, and the unit's independence, appointment rules and reporting lines - which this law sets - are the recurring point of contention. Published in Le Moniteur, 172nd year, Special No. 16, Thursday 25 May 2017.