Those countries included on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist of "non-cooperative" nations not doing enough to combat money laundering are naturally keen to be removed from the list as soon as possible. The list, published in June, has dented the reputations of the 15 "named and shamed" but they are staging a fight-back. The latest financial centre keen to talk with the G7 nations is Panama, which is planning to send a high-level government delegation to four European countries in September in a bid to improve its international standing in the wake of its inclusion on the FATF list.
Panama's foreign minister Jose Miguel Aleman said last week: 'The aim of the visit is to demonstrate to our counterparts (in Europe) the seriousness with which Panama takes the issue ... and to show them by diplomatic means the priority which Panama is giving to resolve it.'
The Panamanian delegation will be headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Harmodio Arias and Special Ambassador for International Services Carlos Cordero, and is due to meet authorities in France, Germany, Spain and the UK. It is not clear whether the new finance minister Norberto Delgado, who replaced Victor Juliao in a cabinet shake-up on Monday, will play any role in the Panamanian mission.
The blacklisting of Panama as a country which facilitates the passage of so-called "hot money" has spurred a flurry of activity from this 87-bank financial centre. Since the publication of the FATF list, a government-led consultative group made up of banking, security and law enforcement representatives, has met weekly to review existing banking regulations and hammer out proposed changes. Recommendations so far include extending the current list of offences linked to money laundering to cover arms trafficking, kidnapping, extortion and contraband. The proposal is scheduled for debate by Panama's legislature after it returns from the summer recess on September 1.
Despite the predicted raft of changes as a direct result of its blacklisting, Panama already has a number of existing regulations, but according to the FATF, they do not go far enough. Panama's banking sector, which recorded assets of US$37 billion at the end of 1999, already has more than 40 regulations overseeing transactions, including cash declaration and know-your-client laws.
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