Panama expects to be removed soon from a “grey list” of countries that are not doing enough to combat money laundering, following years of pressure to clean up its financial system in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal.
President Laurentino Cortizo told the Financial Times that the Central American nation was completing work on a beneficial registry of company ownership, one of the last outstanding tasks assigned by the Financial Action Task Force, an international watchdog.
“We are expecting to leave FATF [’s grey list] soon, we are expecting it this year,” the president said. “We have made an enormous effort. I have been personally following the team working on the issue”.