Any person acting either on his own behalf or on behalf of a third party, whether a legal entity or a natural person, who has granted usurious credit shall be punished by imprisonment of one to six months and a fine of one hundred thousand francs to one hundred million francs or only one of these two penalties.
The fine provided for above shall depend on the amount of credit granted as follows in CFA:
- 100,000FCFA to 1,000,000FCFA for credit amounts less than or equal to 5,000,000FCFA.
- 1,000,001FCFA to 2,000,000FCFA for amounts exceeding 5,000,000FCFA and less than or equal to 10,000,000FCFA.
- 2,000,001FCFA to 5,000,000FCFA for amounts exceeding 10,000,000FCFA and less than or equal to 50,000,000FCFA.
- 5,000,001FCFA to 10,000,000FCFA for amount exceeding 50,000,000FCFA and less than or equal to 100,000,000FCFA.
- 10,000,001FCFA to 25,000,000FCFA for amounts exceeding 100,000,000FCFA and less than or equal to 500,000,000FCFA.
- 25,000,001FCFA to 50,000,000FCFA for amounts exceeding 500,000,000FCFA and less than or equal to 1,000,000,000FCFA.
- 50,000,001FCFA to 100,000,000FCFA for amounts above 1,000,000,000FCFA.
In case of recidivism, the penalties are doubled.
For legal persons not falling under the competence of COBAC, the court may order the provisional closure of the company when the usurious operation is carried out by the company or its managers and employees. The court’s decision shall be accompanied by the appointment of a provisional administrator or a receiver.
The above paragraph shall apply irrespective of the legal personality of the legal person in question.
The court may also order that the judgement be published in full or in extracts in the newspapers it designates and that it be posted in the places it determines, at the offender’s expense, without this exceeding the minimum amount of the fine incurred.