The Cuban regime published this Wednesday in the Official Gazette the Resolution 86 from the Ministry of Finance and Prices, a regulation that designates self-employed individuals, SMEs, Non-Agricultural Cooperatives, and Local Development projects as mandatory financial surveillance agents, required to report any operations they consider suspicious to the authorities.
The resolution, signed on April 8 and published in Official Gazette No. 37, establishes the "Procedure for the attention, supervision, and control of the activity of Bookkeeping" for all non-state actors performing this function, whom it designates as "obligated subjects" in the areas of money laundering prevention, terrorism financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
In practice, the regulation transfers financial oversight functions from the State to the private sector, expanding control over a non-state economy that has already been subject to an unprecedented regulatory escalation.
Among the central obligations is the issuance of the Suspicious Transaction Report (STR): when a bookkeeper detects or perceives that a transaction from their client may be linked to illicit activities, they must report it to the authorities without informing the investigated client, under an obligation of absolute confidentiality.
Additionally, obligated parties must verify international lists and the National List of Individuals Linked to Terrorism before providing any service, retain relevant data and information for five years after the end of the contractual relationship, and cooperate mandatorily with authorities when required.
The Ministry of Finance and Prices, the National Office of Tax Administration (ONAT), and local structures are empowered to supervise, inspect, and implement corrective measures, with the possibility of escalating cases to the Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Comptroller's Office.
The regulation arrives in a context of increasing regulatory pressure on the Cuban private sector. The Resolution 56/2024 canceled wholesale trade licenses for TCP, MIPYMES, and cooperatives, and Decree-Law 91/2024 tightened penalties with fines of up to 72,000 pesos.
This is compounded by the mandatory electronic invoicing for the private sector in 2026 and the restrictions on the use of foreign currency in commerce.
The regime justifies the measure as part of Objective No. 8 of its Economic and Social Program, which seeks to “advance the implementation of general directives aimed at preventing and reducing crime, corruption, illegal activities, and social indiscipline.”
The government also claims that the regulation responds to commitments with the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT), of which Cuba is a member and is preparing for a new round of evaluations. A report from that organization found that the non-state sector was not integrated into the suspicious activity reporting system.
However, the measure increases the bureaucratic and legal burden on entrepreneurs operating amid a deep economic crisis and introduces real risks of sanctions, suspension of activities, and criminal investigations for those who fail to comply with their new monitoring obligations.
The Cuban private sector, with over 11,000 registered MIPYMES that account for 31.2% of employment and contribute 23% of fiscal revenues, has thus largely become an extension of the state control system.
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