PARAGRAPH Il: USURY (Law number 95-065 of 02 April 1995) ARTICLE 283: A usurious loan shall refer to any loan or any agreement that conceals a loan of money granted, in any case, at a percentage rate that exceeds, on the stipulated date, the maximum legal interest rate. The maximum legal interest rate shall be set by the Council of Ministers of the West African Monetary Union. It shall, at the behest of the Ministry of Finance, be published in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper authorized to carry legal advertisements. ARTICLE 284: The percentage rate shall be freely agreed upon between the borrower and the lender subject to compliance with the limit set out in the first article. This rate must be stated in writing. ARTICLE 285: The contractual interest rate shall be calculated taking into account the debt write-off and all types of remuneration, including those paid to intermediaries who played any role whatsoever in the granting of the loan. However, taxes and levies paid during contract conclusion or performance shall not be considered to calculate the interest rate. ARTICLE 286: The interest rate cap as defined in article 283 and above which usury is committed, may be added, for some transactions which, owning to their nature, have high fixed levies and fixed charges whose amount will be set by the Council of Ministers of the West African Monetary Union, as proposed by the Central Bank of West African States. ARTICLE 287: Loans granted during instalment sales shall, for the purposes of this law, be considered contractual loans, and consequently be subject to the provisions of article 283. ARTICLE 288: In the event of loans on commodities or other movable items and in sales and barter credit transactions, the value of things given or the price paid by the debtor, as the principal amount and related charges, may not be more than the value of the things received or the amount higher than the one for the maximum interest rate stated in article 283. ARTICLE 289 : Whoever gives another a usurious loan or knowingly contributes, for any reason and in any way whatsoever, whether directly or indirectly, so that a usurious loan is obtained or granted shall be punished with imprisonment of between two months to two years and a fine of between one hundred thousand to five million francs. In case the offender commits the same crime again, the maximum penalty may be increased to imprisonment of five years and a fine of fifteen million, or only one of these two penalties. ARTICLE 290: Besides the penalties stated in the previous article, the court may order: 1° the publication of its ruling at the expense of the offender in newspapers it chooses as well as in any form that it deems appropriate; 2° the temporary or permanent closure of the company that engaged or whose managers engaged in usurious transactions, and also appoint an administrator or a liquidator. In the event of permanent closure, the offender or the company must continue paying its workers the salaries and all the allowances they are entitled to. The closure may not last longer than three months. In case the offender commits the same crime again, permanent closure shall be ordered. ARTICLE 291: The penalties provided for in article 289, and eventually the measures set out in article 290 shall apply to those who, tasked in any capacity whatsoever with the management or administration of a firm, company, association, cooperative, or another legal entity, deliberately allow someone under their authority or - their control violate the provisions of this paragraph. ARTICLE 292: When a loan is usurious, excessive levies shall be applied automatically to the 49