Panama leaves the European money laundering list

The government announced the European Union’s decision to exclude Panama from its membership list of high-risk countries in the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

The commission welcomed progress presented by the technical team of Panama improve its AML/CFT regime.

Europe noted that Panama has not only strengthened its legal and regulatory framework to meet the obligations of the action plan on the strategic deficiencies it has identified Financial Action Task Force (FATF)but implemented mechanisms that have demonstrated their effectiveness.

Procedure for removing Panama from this list started in October 2020 and after three years it pays off.

This was reported by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Héctor Alexander, last October It was in the government’s interest that Panama be excluded from the three lists discriminatory practices affecting the state.

First, it was removed from the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), October 27, 2023an organization that reviews measures similar to those that generated delisting from the European Union.

In this sense, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) described that Panama reiterated that it will continue cooperation with Latin American Financial Action Group (Gafilat) continue to strengthen his regime.

The MEF explained that the exclusion of Panama from this list It will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

There is still the exclusion of Panama from the second list of the European Union, related to the issues tax cooperation.

She is ready was created on 05.12.2017 and since that time the country has been included along with 15 other nations as non-cooperative jurisdictions against tax avoidance and evasion.

In October last year, after a review, it was decided to keep Panama and In February of this year, a new evaluation is planned see if a nation has been removed from that list.