Money laundering in casinos

We have recently opened a casino in the bustling city of Dar es Salaam. Reports from other countries indicate that casinos are sometimes used by money launders to clean proceeds from crimes. For that reason, casino operators have special obligations to report suspicious transactions. Is this also the case in Tanzania and where can we report suspicious transactions? Kindly guide us as we do not want to fall foul of the law.
MJ, Dar es Salaam

The Anti-Money Laundering Act, [Cap. 423 of 2006] (AMLA) is the main legislation against money laundering in Tanzania. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) established under section 4 of the AMLA is responsible for receiving suspicious transaction reports from reporting persons, in relation to suspected money laundering and terrorist financing activities. After receiving a report, the FIU will analyse and disseminate intelligence to appropriate law enforcement agencies for investigation and further action.

In your case, the Gaming Act [Cap. 41 R.E 2019] (Gaming Act) obliges persons with a gaming license including operation of a casino to report suspicious transactions to the FIU. Section 59(1) of the Gaming Act states that a licensee shall file a report with the FIU of any suspicious transaction relating to a possible violation of law or regulations or where a licensee believes that there is suspicious transaction relevant to possible violation of any law or regulation. A suspicious transaction includes one which, if it is conducted or attempted by, at or through the licensee, involves more than TZS 3M, and the licensee suspects or has reason to suspect (a) the transaction involves funds derived from illegal activities; (b) the transaction is designed to evade any requirements of anti-money laundering laws or regulations; or (c) the transaction has no business or apparent lawful purpose or is not the type of transaction the particular patron would normally be expected to engage, and the licensee knows of no reasonable explanation for the transaction after examining the available facts, including the background and possible purpose of the transaction. We advise that you ensure employees are trained to recognize suspicious transactions that may be money laundering as well as the process of reporting suspicious transactions to the FIU.

Registration of a small scale industry

I own a factory that produces baskets using the latest technology but do not have a large capital, so we produce at a small scale. Our products are very popular in the market due to their quality. This has necessitated an increase in production to meet demands. I currently have six employees but will employ more workers because the decoration work is done by hand. Is there a requirement to register this factory?
WS, Lindi

Congratulations on your success. The law governing registration and licensing of industries is the National Industries (Licensing and Registration) Act [Cap. 46 R.E 2002]. Section 2 of this law defines an industry as any factory in which 10 or more workers are employed on any day. According to section 6(1) no person shall establish any industry unless he has obtained a certificate of registration in respect of the industry. Failure to register as required by the law is an offence. You are therefore advised to make an application to the Registrar of industries if your factory will employ 10 or more workers.

In regards to registration, section 8(1) provides that every application for a certificate of registration shall be made to the Registrar and shall give such particulars as may be prescribed. Further, upon receipt of an application and on being satisfied that all the particulars required to be given therein have been given the Registrar shall issue a certificate of registration in the prescribed form in respect of the industry. Your lawyer can guide you further on this process.

Scope of the Personal Data Protection Act

We are a telecommunication company based in Tanzania with operations in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. We are aware that the government has adopted a law on data protection. We want to know if this law applies to our operations in Zanzibar. Kindly guide us.
TP, Dar es Salaam

The Personal Data Protection Act, [Chapter 44 of 2022] (the Act) applies to both Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. Section 2 of the Act states that it shall apply to Mainland Tanzania as well as Tanzania Zanzibar save that in Tanzania Zanzibar this Act shall not apply to non-union matters. The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 (the Constitution), provides a guide to what constitutes non-union matters. According to Article 4 of the Constitution, there shall be Union Matters as listed in the First Schedule and non-union matters shall be matters which are not so listed.

The First schedule contains a list of 22 union matters which are: Foreign Affairs; Defence and Security; Police; Emergency Powers; Citizenship; Immigration; External borrowing and trade; Service in the Government of the United Republic; Income tax payable by individuals and by corporations, customs duty and excise duty on goods manufactured in Tanzania collected by the Customs Department; Harbours, matters relating to air transport, posts and telecommunications; All matters concerning coinage and currency for the purposes of legal tender (including notes), banks (including savings banks) and all banking business; foreign exchange and exchange control; Industrial licensing and statistics; Higher education; Mineral oil resources, including crude oil other categories of oil or products and natural gas; The National Examinations Council of Tanzania and all matters connected with the functions of that Council; Civil aviation; Research; Meteorology; Statistics; the Court of Appeal of the United Republic; Registration of political parties and other matters related to political parties.

Based on the above, you are required to take due regard on data protection requirements provided in the Act in so far as the union matters are concerned. We believe the Data Protection Commission will provide guidelines on the application of the Act in Zanzibar.