This week an Argentine delegation participated in the plenary meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Singapore. At the meeting, which took place between 23 and 28 June, delegates from the global network of 200 jurisdictions and observers from the IMF, World Bank, United Nations and OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) discussed money laundering, financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
As reported by the delegation, Argentina is working towards the FATF supervision that will take place in Paris, France, between August 12 and 15. Then, in October of this year, it will be decided whether to grant the final approval of each country to remain in the Group of 40 nations (G40) and avoid falling into the organization’s “gray list”.
The list mentioned includes those states that, as Venezuela and Monaco, do not collaborate in the fight against capital resulting from drug trafficking and terrorist organizations. Other countries included are Croatia, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Syria, Vietnam and Yemen.
On the other hand, Türkiye and Jamaica managed to be removed, after successful visits on site of the FATF. For its part, the Argentina has rectified contributions from the previous government linked to the financing of Al Qaeda and the Taliban regime.
According to information from the Argentine delegation, since 2011 Argentina could only show three convictions for money laundering. But in March of this year, on the last visit in situ of the FATF, they presented 77 sentences for money laundering convictions and seizures of millions of pesos.
According to research by the International Monetary Fund, entering the FATF grey list could imply, among other consequences, a drop of up to 7 points of GDPIn this sense, remaining in the G40 global group is important for the relationship with the IMF, the World Bank and the main international organizations.
The team was coordinated from Buenos Aires by the Vice Minister of Justice, Sebastian Amerioand in Asia, for Eugene Curia, head of International Affairs of the same ministry. Furthermore, he was made up of Ignacio YacobucciPresident of the Financial Information Unit (UIF); Mariano Borinskyhead of the Criminal Cassation Chamber; Silvina Rivaroladirector (still on commission) of the Central Bank; Felipe Gimenez Losanomember of the Chancellery, and Mariana Curraisdirector of International Cooperation at UIF.
As part of their activities in Singapore, the delegation met with Jorge Fainsteindirector of Interpol, to address issues such as cybercrime, financial crimes, money laundering, corruption, criminal intelligence analysis, asset freezing, combating organized and transnational crime, and red alerts. “Argentina has been doing its homework well in this area and there are reasons to believe that it will meet its final goal,” said the delegates.
The FATF expressed concern that North Korea continues to fail to address the deficiencies in its systems against money laundering, terrorism and the financing of weapons of mass destruction, which is why it finds itself in a blacklist with Iran and Myanmar. There is also concern from some countries about its link with Russia, suspended since February 2023.
During the meeting in Singapore, the joint assessment of Kuwaitwhich initiated a review process, and India, which met its objectives and remains in the highest international category. In turn, the priorities of the FATF were approved, under the presidency that will assume Mexico July 1: Focus on financial inclusion, ensuring a successful start to the next round of evaluations and strengthening network cohesion, among others.
