Panama stays on money laundering gray list

Panama remains on the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which identifies countries with deficiencies in their regimes for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

The update came on Friday, June 25, at the end of the second annual plenary meeting of the international organization.

When Panama entered the sanctioning list in June 2019, the country committed to the execution of an action plan to address the deficiencies detected.

This action plan consists of 15 points, of which 5 are fully met and 10 are partially met. The times originally agreed to complete the plan have already expired, confirmed the FATF. the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF),  the entity that coordinates the strategy to strengthen the money laundering prevention regime and with regard to sanctioning lists, they have stressed that there is a sense of urgency to get out of the gray list, although there are no new specific deadlines for completing the plan.

The MEF recalled that “the FATF assesses countries based on their regulatory and institutional framework, as well as the effectiveness of their application.” To improve Panama’s position and the effectiveness of the legal framework, the MEF “has presented various legal modifications in order to optimize the domestic regulatory framework and ensure effective compliance with the anti-money laundering regime, against the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, “said the entity in a statement.

The next FATF plenary meeting is scheduled for October.