Panama fertile ground for fraud, tax evasion, money laundering – IMF

A DAMNING indictment of Panama’s failure to comply with recommendations to reduce fraud, tax evasion and money laundering has been released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

They are crimes that can find fertile ground in the country given the vulnerabilities found, according to a review. The agency determined that of 40 recommendations, Panama complied fully with one, applied three broadly, 23 partially and 13 not at all.

The report warns that chiefly Panama has left out several actions in the fight against money laundering.
Among those listed are real estate, legal services, marketing of precious metals and the accounting profession.
The international body based its report on a mission which visited Panama in 2012 .The results were published in February 2014, but it was not until now that The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) gave consent for the body to make its analysis public.
 The Ministry representing the Government, says the IMF report does not reflect the reality of the Panamanian system, nor the measures that have been implemented in the fight against money laundering reports La Prensa.