By Kei Emmanuel Duku
South Sudan’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has directed security authorities to confiscate large sums of unbanked South Sudanese Pounds (SSP) and arrest individuals holding such bulk cash.
The order, citing the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Finance Act 2012 (amended 2024), mandates the FIU to issue guidelines, criminalize, and report those possessing illicit bulk cash and large cash transactions (Sections 14(d) and 18).
The directives, by Acting Commissioner Dr. Abraham Telar Nicknora, urge companies/individuals/businesses/traders to bank all SSP in their possession, as stipulated under Section 70(3) (c) of the South Sudan Banking Act.
While the exact amount constituting “bulk” cash for confiscation was not specified, security authorities are instructed to seize SSP held outside regulated financial systems.
Business communities are further directed to deposit all SSP into licensed banks or authorized institutions by noon CAT on Friday, May 9th, 2025. Non-compliance will result in arrest, investigation, and prosecution.
Dr. Nicknora also directed security authorities to launch criminal investigations into the source of funds, tax compliance, and potential money laundering and terrorist financing activities of those found in possession of unbanked bulk cash.
Institutions breaching these orders risk license suspension or revocation, blacklisting, and referral to the South Sudan Revenue Authority for tax recovery.
The Acting Commissioner emphasized that under Section 14(d) of the AML/CFT Act, possessing illicit bulk cash is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment for individuals or a fine up to three times the seized amount for corporate bodies, in addition to court-imposed sanctions.
He added that Sections 46, 49, 56, and 70 of the Bank of South Sudan Act 2011 establish the SSP as legal tender, require prices in pounds, mandate banks to hold SSP reserves, and grant supervisory authority over regulated entities. Transacting business outside prescribed law through licensed financial institutions constitutes contempt, and the public is urged to comply.
The reason for the FIU directive remains unclear, however, South Sudan is currently facing a severe inflation crisis, estimated by the IMF at 65.7% as of April 2025, with an end-of-period projection of 128.4% for 2025.
Economists have previously linked the country’s soaring inflation to political conflict, currency devaluation, over-reliance on oil revenue, dependence on imports, and other external economic shocks weakening the SSP.