Helena Prata presented a legal report at the Angolan Bar Association concerning the "Proposal of legislation to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism"

On May 17 Helena Prata, partner of ALC Advogados, presented a legal report at the Angolan Bar Association concerning the "Proposal of legislation to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism".

In broad terms, Helena Prata defends that "without prejudice to the subjugation of lawyers  to  duties regarding the identification of clients and  active beneficiaries and the refusal of their services related to acts or business activities that promote, direct or indirectly, money laundering and/or the financing of terrorism, and the subjugation, when the breach of these duties occurs, to the corresponding disciplinary and/or penal sanctions that, can also be applicable, the subjugation   to any kind of duty of communication or information to the Financial Information Unit is considered doubtful, even though through  the President of the respective Bar Association, over any facts that (...) can have as an object acts or money laundering operations or  the financing of terrorism."

In addition, Helena Prata says that "the professional secrecy of the lawyer is not a right of the lawyer but a right of the client (...) it is a guarantee of the democratic rule of law for the good administration of justice."

For a complete transcript of the legal report, please download below.