CAMEROON Law and Practice Contributed by: Michel Aaron Feugueng, Ida Tchamde Feugueng and Yvette Kalieu Elongo, Maaron Law Firm
Practical Implications for Fraud Claims In practice, banking secrecy is not an obstacle to evi - dence gathering in fraud proceedings where a criminal complaint has been filed or a conservatory measure obtained. 7.3 Crypto-Assets Legal Status of Crypto-Assets Cameroon does not yet have dedicated legislation specifically classifying crypto-assets as legal prop - erty. However, CEMAC Regulation No 02/18/CEMAC/ UMAC/CM of 21 December 2018 on the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Terror - ist Financing (as updated) extends AML obligations to virtual asset service providers. Courts have, on a case-by-case basis, treated cryptoassets as assets susceptible to seizure and attachment in enforcement proceedings, applying general property law principles under the Civil Code and the AUPSRVE. Freezing Relief The absence of specific crypto-asset legislation cre - ates practical challenges for obtaining freezing orders. However, Cameroonian courts have demonstrated flexibility in applying the saisie conservatoire mech - anism under Article 54 of the AUPSRVE to crypto- assets held in identified wallets, where the applicant can provide sufficient technical evidence identifying the wallet and establishing the nexus to the fraud. ANIF has also issued administrative freezing orders in relation to transactions involving crypto-assets sus - pected of being proceeds of crime.
Particular Issues in Crypto Fraud Crypto-asset fraud presents specific challenges in Cameroon: (i) tracing is technically complex and requires specialist blockchain forensic expertise; (ii) the anonymity of transactions makes identification of fraudsters difficult; and (iii) cross-border recovery is hampered by the absence of specific OHADA or CEMAC rules on crypto-assets. Regulatory Developments Cameroon and the CEMAC zone are actively devel - oping regulatory frameworks for crypto-assets. Prac - titioners and clients are advised to monitor develop - ments by the Banking Commission (COBAC), the Central Bank (BEAC) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which are expected to result in compre - hensive legislation in the near future.
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