On Friday, October 27 of this year, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in its plenary session held in Paris, France, decided to remove Panama from its gray list, considering that the country has made significant progress in international transparency, having demonstrated its commitment to combating money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as adopting measures that allow for fair and equitable competition within the international financial community.
What does the FATF grey list removal mean?
- Attracting new investments and strengthening current ones
- Improves the economic stability of the country and the generation of more jobs
- Raises the international image of Panama
- Simplifies international trade
- Strengthens the local financial system
- Reduces risks of international sanctions.
FATF Plenary Meeting Updates
During the plenary meeting, the FATF also announced that it will present a report on the use of crowdfunding to strengthen financial intelligence on terrorist financing networks, as well as the adoption of financial sanctions and confiscations to cut off terrorists’ sources of income and prevent conflicts and attacks such as those perpetrated by Hamas in Israel in early October. This has been considered a high priority for jurisdictions worldwide to adopt in their respective legislative systems.
Note: For more information, please write to jmitre@lacgrp.com