Panama remains on FATF gray list, progress presented

He Financial Action Task Force (FATF) hold up Panama on the gray list of countries with deficiencies in the fight against money laundering.

In this connection, Ministry of Economy and Finance (MPEG) informed that Panama continues to make progress in accordance with the action plan FATFtherefore, he is ready to request an In Situ visit.

The purpose is that progress can be presented in the Republic, by representatives of each institution, as well as its strategic plan, which guarantees sustainability over time.

According to the MEF, during the last meeting of the FATF Plenary Session, Panama received a rating increase for its action plan, making the country progress on long-held goals with 13 actions out of 15 established by the Agency, in June 2019.

The entity states that of the two actions that remain classified as partially fulfilled, significant progress has been made, which the FATF ICRG Joint Group of the Americas concluded that, “despite the technical challenges Panama faced to fulfill Unified register of end users (RUBF)the efforts made by the state to implement it quickly are recognized”.

Similarly, it acknowledges that “Panama has demonstrated that it is using all existing mechanisms and powers to increase registration, even before established deadlines.”

It was also reported that The Americas Joint Group recognized the progress made by Panama in obtaining information from the competent authorities, recommending that it continue to complete the register and thereby ensure timely access to the said authorities.

“Therefore, the challenge that Panama must face in order to complete the action plan is to increase the burden of information on legal entities in the RUBF, as well as to guarantee that competent authorities have timely access to information on end users. The action, which included money laundering investigations, which have foreign tax crimes as a precedent, was qualified after the meeting in January, largely fulfilled, thus progressing in a positive sense with the fulfillment of the action plan. “, UPCG adds in a statement.

He The Americas Joint Group indicated that “Panama has demonstrated that it has the ability to investigate and prosecute money laundering that has foreign tax crimes as a precedent.

It is also emphasized that the state has strengthened its legal and institutional capacities through the investigations of the specialized prosecutor for money laundering for tax crimes committed abroad. In addition, he initiated 10 investigations into possible foreign tax crimes and obtained 2 convictions and forfeitures for that type of crime.

The Administration for Non-Financial Entities (SSNF), during 2022, it conducted 3,064 direct inspections, which represents 100% execution of the annual inspection plan, of which 2,526 were aimed at the resident sector of lawyers/representatives. In the same way, they conducted 152 on-site inspections, of which 90 were in the lawyers/resident agents sector.