Gafilat to Support Guatemala's Anti-Money Laundering Preparations Amid Law Discussion

Guatemala is set to receive a technical mission from the Latin American Financial Action Group (Gafilat) during the first week of June. This visit is a crucial step in the country's strategic preparation for its upcoming Mutual Evaluation concerning the prevention of money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.

The mission is part of a specialized course designed to bolster Guatemala's technical and inter-institutional readiness for the fifth round of Mutual Evaluations by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Gafilat, scheduled for the coming years. "Gafilat will provide technical support to Guatemala in this preparatory process, with the objective of strengthening the identification of priorities and supporting the country's strategic preparation for the mutual evaluation," stated Saulo De León Durán, Superintendent of Banks, during the XXIII Regional Congress for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Cladit).

Discussions during the mission will cover critical areas such as risk assessment, a risk-based approach, financial intelligence, asset recovery, supervision, beneficial ownership, terrorist financing, targeted financial sanctions, and international cooperation. A specialized session will also be held for the private sector to enhance understanding of international standards and prepare obligated entities for the evaluation process.

The Mutual Evaluation process involves a comprehensive review of a country's system for preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF). The resulting assessment provides a rating that demonstrates the effectiveness of the nation's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) system, along with recommendations for addressing any identified deficiencies.