CHAPTER VII: Punishment of Natural Persons and Corporate Entities
Article 50 − Penalties applicable to corporate entities
1) When the offence of money laundering is committed by an employee, agent or representative acting under their behalf, the corporate entity shall be punished as following:
1. If the amount of fund, profit earned and value of asset which laundered or intended to be laundered cannot be determined, the corporate shall be liable to a fine equal to the amount of fund, profit earned or value of the asset.
2. If the amount of fund, profit earned and value of asset which laundered or intended to be laundered cannot be determined, the corporate shall be liable to a fine not less than 500,000 Afghani and not more than 1,500,000 Afghani, without prejudice to the conviction of those individuals as perpetrators of the offence or accessories to it. This provision does not impede the implementation of paragraph 4 of this Article on natural persons.
2) Corporate entities may additionally be:
a) banned for a period not to exceed five years from directly or indirectly carrying on certain business activities;
b) dissolved if such corporation had been established for the purpose of committing the offence in question or it allowed its premises to be used for such purposes; and
c) required to publicize the judgment in the press or in any other audiovisual media.
3) Apart from subparagraph 1 of this Article, if due to lack of supervision or control on the employee, the employee paves the ground for the natural person to commit the offense of money laundering and as a result, the natural person benefits from it, the natural person will also be punished in accordance with subparagraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
4) The application of penalties under this Article shall not preclude any other parallel criminal, civil or administrative proceedings with respect to a corporate entity for the offence of money laundering.
Article 51 − Penalties for offences
1) A natural or legal person who commits the following offences shall be punished under subparagraph 2 of this Article.
A person commits an offence who:
a) intentionally fails to report a suspicion, as provided for in Article 18
b) intentionally discloses any information regarding a report required to be filed under this Law to the person or persons to whom the report relates or to any other person not entitled to such information contrary to Article 18(5);
c) fails to comply with Article, 27 of this law
d) Intentionally destroys or removes registers or records which, in accordance with this Law, must be maintained;
e) having learned, by reason of his trade or occupation, of any action by the Financial Intelligence Unit, or any money laundering or financing of terrorism inquiry or investigation by law enforcement authorities prior to the public disclosure of that action, inquiry or investigation by the appropriate authorities knowingly discloses that fact, by any means, to the person or persons to whom the investigation relates or to any other person not entitled to such information;
f) communicates deeds or records specified in Article 47 (2) to the judicial authorities or to the officials competent to investigate criminal offences, knowing such deeds or records to contain errors or omissions, without informing them of that fact;
g) otherwise communicates or discloses information or records required to be kept confidential under this Law to any person offence not authorized to receive such information or records by this Law; or
(i) does not comply with other obligation under Part II, and relevant regulations, instructions, circulars, guidelines, policies and procedures of competent authorities.
2) The penalty for the commission of the offences referred to in paragraph 1 of this article shall be as follows:
a) in the case of a natural person, imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than one year or a fine of not less than 5,000 Afghani and not more than 50,000 Afghani, or both,
b) with respect to corporate entities, a fine of not less than 25,000 Afghani and not more than 125,000 Afghani.
3) Perpetrators of Article 23 of this law shall be punished as follows:
1. in the case of an individual by a fine of 5,000 Afghanis or imprisonment for not more than three months, or both; or
2. in the case of a corporate body by a fine of not less than 50,000 and not more than 250,000 Afghanis.
4) Perpetrators of article 7(1) of this law, in case of transportation of currency, Bearer negotiable instruments or gold related to terrorist financing, money laundering or the predicate offences and are subject to confiscation and other provisional measures, In additions to confiscation of the cash and negotiable bearer instruments, shall be subject to imprisonment of 1 year or a fine equivalent to the amount seized or both.
5) Natural or legal persons convicted based on subparagraph 1 shall have their licenses revoked indefinitely or for at least 5 years.
Article 52: Punishment to Natural Person
1) A person who commits the offense of money laundering shall be imprisoned for a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 10 years or a cash fine of 500,000 to 5,000,000 or both.
2) A person who commits the offenses set forth in Article 4 of this law or participates in, attempts or conspires to commit, aids, facilitates, abets, supports, organizes, manages or counsels, associates in the commission of the offence, shall be punished equal to the perpetrator.
3) any persons who transports currency, Bearer negotiable instruments or gold related to terrorist financing, money laundering or the predicate offences and are subject to confiscation and other provisional measures, and or make no or false declaration, shall be subject to the confiscation of all amount or just the difference between the real amount or the amount declared, as the case may be.
Article 53: Punishment to criminal organizations
When the offence is perpetrated by a member of a criminal organization or by a corporate entity owned or controlled by such organization the penalty applicable in such cases shall be;
a) in the case of a natural persons shall not be less than five years and not more than 14 years and a fine of not less than 500,000 Afghani and not more than two million Afghani,
b) in case of a corporate entity, a fine of not less than two million Afghani and not more than 10 million Afghani.
Article 54: Aggravating and mitigating circumstances
The penal law on the aggravating and mitigating circumstances shall be applicable on this Law.
