Several bills related to supervision, financial regulation and money tracking are waiting for the legislative process in order to meet requirements set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The Superintendence of Financial Institutions (SUGEF), the Ministry of Finance and the Costa Rican Drug Institute (ICD), contributing entities in the fight against money laundering, illicit enrichment and tax evasion, are three of the most interested institutions in this legal procedure.
When asked about the urgency of these laws, the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Javier Cascante, said he believed reforms are needed to address the shortcomings identified in Costa Rica on good practices.
Not meeting the requirements poses the risk of being included in the black list of “non-cooperative” countries. The deadline for the Costa Rican government is July, 15th.
The reforms requested by Grupo de Acción Financiera de Latinoamérica (GAFILAT) have to do with adequate criminalization of terrorist financing and enhance the powers of the authorities to the freezing of assets, define the procedures of circulation of lists of designated terrorists, regulation of activities and non-financial professions, treatment of Suspicious Transaction Reports and strengthening the financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), among other major reforms.
Deputy Minister of Revenue, Fernando Rodríguez, also noted a risk as to the process of accession to the OECD, if Costa Rica fails to meet the deadlines set in terms of final beneficiaries, which extends until July, 31st.