News

In the News from Panama

Panama Expected to Exit ‘Grey List’

The international group that oversees financial crimes is expected to remove Panama from its “grey list” later this year, according to a report by Reuters. 

Inclusion on the list has long been controversial in Panama, with many people feeling the international community was unfairly judging the country’s efforts to battle financial crimes. The designation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the anti-money-laundering group, can impact investment in the country and its credit rating. 

Deputy Financial Minister Jorge Almengor told Reuters he expects the FATF to recognize Panama’s progress and remove the country from the list in October. Other organizations, including the EU and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) would likely follow suit.

FATF officials are expected to visit Panama for a review in September, which should be “100% successful,” Almengor told the news service.

“Exiting FATF’s list in October should have an immediate impact,” he said. “We could exit the EU’s list in the following months.”

Among other changes, Panama has created an online system to collect information on the final beneficiaries of companies’ profits and make this accessible to authorities when needed, as requested by the FATF.

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, he said.