On July 28, 2022, the Latin American Financial Action Task Force (GAFILAT), at its XLV Meeting of Representatives, which took place in Quito, Ecuador, informed that Paraguay has successfully passed the evaluation of the effectiveness of its national prevention system against money laundering, financing of terrorism, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The process to evaluate the Paraguayan system began in November of 2019 and consisted of the preparation and coordination by GAFILAT and Paraguayan government authorities (led by the Secretariat for the Prevention of Money Laundering, or SEPRELAD) of technical compliance and effectiveness reports, mutual observations, negotiation rounds, and on-site evaluation visits. For Paraguay, the process also entailed the passing of various new laws to reinforce the existing legal framework, as well as the intensification of efforts in the investigation, prosecution, and punishment of these crimes.
With the positive result of the evaluation, Paraguay is considered a cooperating country in the region in the fight against money laundering, financing of terrorism, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and successfully avoids being included in the gray list of countries with deficiencies in their prevention systems, which would have been a serious hit to the country´s economic outlook and its international standing.