On-shore VASP in Guinea

Cryptocurrency Exchanges: Operating a platform for buying, selling, or exchanging cryptocurrencies is not permitted.

Custody Providers: Providing services for safeguarding cryptographic keys or virtual assets on behalf of customers is not permitted.

Payment Processors (for Virtual Assets): Facilitating payments or transfers using cryptocurrencies is not permitted.

The fact that they are not recognized as legitimate currencies or financial instruments under Guinean law.

AML/KYC: The general anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws and regulations of Guinea would still apply to any financial activity. These laws would make it extremely difficult (and likely illegal) to process transactions for unregulated assets like cryptocurrencies without proper identification and reporting mechanisms.

Local Presence: For any recognized financial institution, a physical local presence and registration would be mandatory.

Law N° L/2018/005/AN concerning the Fight Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (LBC/FT): This is the fundamental legal text. It replaced older legislation and aims to align Guinea's framework with international standards, particularly the FATF recommendations.

Cellule Nationale de Traitement des Informations Financières (CENTIF-Guinée)

Identification and Verification of Customer Identity:

Identification of Beneficial Owners: Take reasonable measures to understand the ownership and control structure of the customer and identify the natural persons who ultimately own or control the customer.

Ongoing Due Diligence: Conduct ongoing monitoring of the business relationship and transactions to ensure they are consistent with the VASP's knowledge of the customer, their business, and risk profile.

Risk-Based Approach (RBA): VASPs must implement an RBA, meaning they should apply enhanced due diligence (EDD) for higher-risk situations (e.g., transactions involving politically exposed persons (PEPs), customers from high-risk jurisdictions, complex or unusually large transactions, new or developing technologies and products). Conversely, simplified due diligence (SDD) may be applied in lower-risk scenarios.

Report Suspicious Transactions: Immediately report any transaction (or attempted transaction) that they suspect involves money laundering or terrorist financing to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). This includes transactions regardless of the amount.

No Tipping-Off: Not disclose to the customer or any third party that a report has been made or that a money laundering or terrorist financing investigation is being conducted.

Transaction Records: All records of financial transactions, including the amounts, currencies, virtual assets involved, dates, and parties to the transaction.

Customer Identification Data: All documents and information obtained during the CDD process (e.g., copies of identification documents, beneficial ownership information).

No VASPs are formally covered or licensed to operate under a regulatory framework that would mandate Travel Rule compliance.

The BCEAO's position has historically been to prohibit or strongly discourage financial institutions under its supervision from engaging in activities related to virtual assets. This stance prioritizes financial stability and consumer protection over establishing a framework for regulated virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to operate and comply with rules like the Travel Rule.

Regulator Name: Banque Centrale de la République de Guinée (BCRG) - (Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea)

No dedicated crypto regulatory body: Guinea does not have a specific regulatory body solely focused on cryptocurrency, nor a comprehensive legal framework for crypto assets.

Lack of specific fines: There have been no widely reported instances of the BCRG or another financial authority levying specific fines against crypto exchanges or platforms for regulatory non-compliance, largely because such entities would be operating outside any recognized framework.

Focus on fraud: Any direct "enforcement" actions are more likely to fall under general criminal law for fraud or illegal financial operations, rather than specific crypto regulations.

Corporate Income Tax: Guinea's standard corporate income tax rate is generally around 35%.

VAT (TVA in Guinea) would apply to the supply of taxable services related to cryptocurrencies. For example, fees charged by a local crypto exchange for trading services, brokerage fees, or the sale of hardware for crypto mining would be subject to the standard TVA rate.

Guinea's Standard TVA Rate: The standard TVA rate in Guinea is generally 18%.