The financial sector (banks and the National Postal Office) submitted 1,230 suspicious activity reports (SARs) to the Tunisian Financial Analysis Commission (CTAF), representing 84.23% of all reports.
In fact, the total number of SARs received by the CTAF in 2024 reached 1,236, compared to 850 in 2023, marking an increase of 45%, according to the commission’s 2024 activity report.
This upward trend, observed since 2022, is attributed to the digitalization of the reporting process in 2021, with the deployment of the GoAML platform, an application developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to meet the specific needs of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs).
The increase is also linked to the reception, since 2023, of a significant number of SARs related to suspected migrant trafficking.
It is worth noting that the number of SARs from payment institutions rose significantly, totaling 119 reports in 2024, or 9.6% of all SARs received, compared to only 4 in 2023.
This growth is mainly due to the increasing exposure of these institutions to risks related to migrant trafficking, given the products they offer, notably the issuance of funds (international money orders).
However, the reporting activity of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) remains very low, consistent with trends observed in recent years, with only three reports submitted exclusively by accountants in 2024, compared to just one in 2023.
The same source highlighted that this is particularly surprising given that DNFBPs frequently act as intermediaries or facilitators (“gatekeepers”) in cases handled by the CTAF (e.g., financial structuring, company creation, contracts, etc.).
Moreover, several awareness and training initiatives have been organized in recent years by the CTAF, public authorities, and international donors for this category of obligated entities.
Only 1% of SARs concern terrorism financing
The majority of SARs received in 2024, 99%, relate to “suspicious activity reports” (SAR) and “suspicious transaction reports” (STR), used when the reporting entity suspects money laundering risks.
Only 1% of SARs concern terrorism financing, reported through “terrorist activity reports” (TAR) and “terrorism financing reports” (TFR). This distribution aligns with the observed decline in terrorist activity in recent years.
Quantitatively, the report notes a continued increase in the number of natural and legal persons suspected or involved in SARs, totaling 14,506 in 2024, compared to 10,830 in 2023, a 33.9% increase, with a predominance of natural persons (14,315, or 98.7%).
