Panama is back on EU grey list. : Weekly News Roundup, June 29th 2019

Panama is back on EU grey list. : Weekly News Roundup, June 29th 2019

Jun 29, 2019 | Panama News

Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.

Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.

Panama is back on EU grey list.

The Panamanian business sector assures that the efforts and results that have been achieved in such a short time have not been recognized by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), deciding to put the country back on the grey list, at a time when economic activity fails to rebound. Year-on-year variation in economic activity fell from 3.7 percent to 2.9 percent between February and March; the rise in April was again 2.9 percent.

Although at the beginning of the year efforts were made in the country to improve controls in relation to tax evasion, as in the case of the approval by the National Assembly of the bill criminalizing tax evasion, when the amount defrauded in a fiscal period of one year is equal to or greater than $300,000, it was not enough for the country to return to the FATF grey list.

Nevertheless, the business sector rejects the new inclusion made to Panama in the list of nations that need to be supervised in the process of implementing measures to prevent money laundering and financing of terrorism, arguing that “private and government sectors have worked hard to strengthen their legal, regulatory and institutional framework with the adoption of norms aligned with international standards.”

Source: Caribbean News Now

Editorial: President Nito set to take over.

On Monday Nito Cortizo takes the oath, and with a working majority in the legislature. By political circumstance he gets to make a bunch of extraordinary appointments that his predecessor could not get confirmed. This is going to be the least divided government since the 1989 US invasion. Cortizo will not, like Ricardo Martinelli did, have to twist arms to get disloyal opportunists to board his ship of state. He has his own people in place.

By a narrow plurality Panamanians elected a politician, not Superman. But he will be the president and the country really can’t afford a fifth straight failed presidency. All patriotic Panamanians, including the nearly two-thirds majority who voted against him, should wish Cortizo well.

He has put together a team of a few old party hands and a new generation about whom we mostly don’t know very much. If he is wise, after a year or two he will ask for the resignations of all members of his team, tell a lot of them that he wants them to stay where they are and carry on, ask some of them to move to some other post in the government and thank and say goodbye to a bunch of others. Too much loyalty to individuals is a time-honored route to failure, but the antidote to that is not to be a miserable boss. We will see Cortizo’s managerial skills in short order.

Source: The Panama News

Panama business chamber slams FAFT’s grey-list decision.

Panamanian business chamber CCIAP slammed the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for putting the country back on its so-called greylist.

The list identifies jurisdictions deemed to lack sufficient anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) rules. Panama will now be subject to FATF monitoring.

Working closely with the OECD, FATF sets standards and promotes the implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the global financial system.

Source: BN Americas

 

How to Diversify Your Panama Investment Portfolio

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Source: International Relocation Firm Blog

International Relocation Firm Staff Writer

International Relocation Firm Staff Writer

As one of the leading Panama Law Firms, and one of the regions most reliable service providers, International Relocation Firm brings a wide range of professional knowledge to our clients needs. Our staff is made up of professional consultants, Panama attorneys and immigration specialists who are experienced in international relocation, and are experts in providing a seamless Panama immigration process.

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