US will increase Paraguay money-laundering pressures
Monday, May 20, 2019
Significance
The bill, which now goes to the Lower House, is in line with demands from Gafilat, the Latin American affiliate of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which began a long-delayed evaluation of Paraguay’s performance on May 7. This will probably avoid Paraguay returning to the FAFT ‘grey list’ but is unlikely to placate the international financial community.
Impacts
- Abdo Benitez will face an uphill struggle to get anti-corruption legislation through Congress.
- US pressures will mount with respect to purported terrorism finance in the tri-border area.
- Lack of progress will complicate relations with the international financial community.