The business sector recognizes the need to implement the standards required to be removed from the gray list, but is calling for flexibility so that businesses are not harmed.

Without calling into question the need for the country to implement and enforce the rules on transparency, financial sector companies are insisting that authorities provide them with greater flexibility in order to minimize the impact the changes will have on their businesses.

“… The banker Moses Cohen said that Panama had gone from one extreme to another in due diligence and compliance. ‘We have forgotten about customers because of the regulations. A Panamanian client who has had a lawful business for 35 years arrives. We know him, but now he has to have a bad experience because he is treated as if he was not known, and the requirements are that we prove he is not a criminal.'”

Prensa.com reports that “… Marelissa Quintero, Superintendent of Securities, said that in the dictated agreements they have tried to comply with the standards set by the FATF. She acknowledged that the cost of compliance is higher because of the need for staff and technology.
There have been meetings to hear suggestions from companies, but she said that at present, when it is in full review by the FATF, it becomes difficult to make changes, because “we want to get off the list.”

Source: Prensa.com