Panama expects to be struck off the financial crime watch list in October

Panama City [Panama], June 30:Panama expects international financial-crime watchdog FATF to remove it this October from a watch list for nations deemed to be doing too little to fight money laundering, the country's deputy finance minister said, adding that other intergovernmental groups might follow suit.
The Central American nation urgently needs to exit the watch lists to reclaim its place as a financial hub, Deputy Financial Minister Jorge Almengor said in an interview late on Wednesday. He added that due to Panama's presence on international watch lists, some foreign countries have been demanding more robust due diligence by their own companies in order to do business in Panama.
Panama's first stint on the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) so-called gray list, which can impact a country's investment ratings and reputation, was from 2014 to 2016. FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 to combat money laundering.
It was off the list for the next three years, during which it dealt with the aftermath of the Panama Papers scandal, a leak from a Panama-based law firm that exposed a network of secretive offshore companies concealing wealth for the rich and powerful.
In 2019 FATF again placed Panama on its list, saying the country was making too little progress on financial transparency. In 2020, the European Union added Panama to its own list of countries deemed "noncooperative" for tax purposes.
The EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, has said the bloc will not remove Panama from its list unless FATF does so first.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has also included Panama on its own watch list.
Almengor said that as of late June, more than 74% of Panama's legal entities had been added to the system, but added the government still needs to improve the pace at which it provides information and the quality of data stored.
Panamanian authorities can now open investigations into companies for not meeting transparency standards, with fines ranging between $1,000 and $1 million, the deputy vice minister said.
The government is preparing to finalize a decree within 45 days that should increase the amount of information Panama-registered firms are obliged to disclose, he said.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation