Latin American countries strengthen their systems against money laundering and financing of terrorism

Guatemala, November 7, 2024. Under the leadership of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), and under the technical coordination of the Latin American Financial Action Task Force (GAFILAT), the systems to fight money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the region's countries are being strengthened.

This support is provided within the framework of the non-reimbursable technical cooperation granted by CABEI, which has enabled the development of various projects to strengthen regulatory and operational measures aimed at combating financial crimes. To date, 10 local projects and 4 regional projects are being developed. These projects include 2 E-learning courses, 2 Regional Sectoral Assessments, more than 10 Technical Assistance documents, more than 6 dissemination podcasts, more than 10 workshops and face-to-face activities. The experience and results of the projects have been shared and socialized at the regional level to strengthen cooperation between countries, a fundamental aspect in the AML/FT fight.

The Program to Strengthen Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (AML/FT) Systems was implemented in preparation for the Fifth Round of Mutual Evaluations of GAFILAT countries, a methodology that allows countries to identify improvement opportunities in these areas and work on the based on actions recommended by experts.

The Fifth Round of GAFILAT mutual evaluations are projected to begin in 2025 and seek to measure each GAFILAT member country's compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (AML/FT) framework. The assessments will be a roadmap for the countries to work on based on recommended actions to strengthen their systems.

Through this Program, CABEI seeks to ensure that countries are prepared for this process and to protect their financial systems in order to increase investor trust and strengthen their economic growth, as well as to reduce the risk of sanctions or the inclusion on lists of jurisdictions under monitoring that could affect their economies.