SUMMARY REPORT OF THE PLENARY SESSION OF FEBRUARY 21, 2025

In the year two thousand and twenty-five, on the twenty-first day of February, senators met in the Senate hemicycle for the 227th plenary session of the sixth legislature, under the aegis of the Right Honourable Emmanuel SINZOHAGERA, Senate speaker, to proceed with:

• the modification of the programme of activities which were planned for the period from February 17 to 28, 2025;
• the analysis and adoption of the bill to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

This session, which brought together 31 senators, also benefited from the presence of a Government Representative, namely the Honourable Nestor NTAHONTUYE, Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning. The the session began, as usual, with a prayer at 10:10 a.m.

Opening the session, the Senate Speaker first welcomed the Honourable senators present and, subsequently, presented the modification of the programme and the latter was adopted unanimously.

Afterwards, the session continued with a word of welcome to the guest of the day and the floor was granted to him to present the preamble of the aforementioned bill.

In his presentation, the Government Representative indicated that the present bill under analysis will allow Burundi to correct the shortcomings observed in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In addition, continues the Minister, the bill aims to modernize the legislative framework in a dynamic of cooperation with other States and taking into account recent developments in criminal practices and technological challenges.

At the end of the presentation and the presentation of the report of the committee on the merits, the opportunity was granted to the Honourable senators so that they could express themselves in the general debate and ask questions for further clarification.

Asked whether there are strategic mechanisms which have been put in place to determine whether investments in kind do not represent laundered funds, the Government Representative responded that the bill provides for verification channels. Also, collaboration in synergy with other services in other countries regarding the authenticity of the capital invested will be favoured, specifies Nestor NTAHONTUYE.

As to whether the content of the bill under analysis would meet the requirements of the criteria on which the evaluation planned for June 2025 will focus, the Minister indicated that this evaluation will be focused on capacity building and recommendations in the event of shortcomings noted. He also reassured the people’s representatives that good results are expected although there is no shortage of adjustments to be made. 

Concerning money laundering, the senators wanted to know if there were no cases already identified in the country. To this question, Nestor NTAHONTUYE responded that the results of the surveys carried out in August 2024 in the various banks are being analyzed to make a decision on this.

At the end of these fluctuating exchanges, the bill was put to a vote and was adopted unanimously by the 39 voting senators, among whom 31 present and 8 proxies. 

The session, which took place in a climate of total understanding, was closed at 13:10 with a prayer.