By Henry Cárdenas P.

he President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo, announced this Thursday, March 14th, that the European Commission (EU) communicated that Panama has been removed from the high-risk countries list, after correcting deficiencies in actions to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.

“The European Commission has communicated through the amendment to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675, which removes Panama from the high-risk countries list, given the progress made in preventing money laundering and terrorism financing,” Cortizo wrote on social media.

In a statement from the Presidency of the Republic, the European Commission examined the progress made by Panama in strategies to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, after addressing the detected deficiencies.

It is highlighted that the European Commission welcomed the progress made by Panama in this regard.

According to the Executive, the EU observed that legal standards were strengthened to comply with the action plan on strategic deficiencies identified by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Additionally, it considered the effectiveness of the actions taken.

Likewise, the Government highlights that this process to exclude Panama from the EU high-risk list began in October 2020.

It is also recalled that on October 27, 2023, Panama was removed from the FATF gray list and that in this scenario, it is not subject to the comprehensive monitoring process by this body within the framework of its current global compliance process in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.

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