I have been to several cattle auctions here in Chiriqui and it is quite a sight.  The process is very organized and there is a lot of cash moving around so I can see the concern.  Still, it is kind of hard to travel around with a herd of cattle and harder to hide them.  A lot easier to run away with a Porsche Cayenne.

The bill to prevent money laundering in Panama includes controls on livestock auctions and car sales.

The finishing touches are being made to the bill at the moment. The initiative will be presented in the next few months to the Panamanian Congress.

The proposal is for auto sales and livestock auctions to be regulated under this bill in order to prevent them from being used for other purposes. These two sectors handle cash, making them activities at risk of being used in illegal ways.

“Other sectors such as finance companies, pawnshops, money remittances, financial leasing companies and credit reporting agencies, also form part of the entities that must comply with the standard,” noted an article in Panamaamerica.com.pa.

According to Elsa Nelly Carrillo de Barría, CEO of Empresas Financieras, the institution “vigorously exercises its duties on all companies making suspicious transactions which threaten the economic order and go against the laws preventing money laundering.”

Meanwhile, Patricia Avila, an analyst at the Department of Financial Analysis at the Financial Analysis Unit (UAF), said implementing the policy of “know your customer” is critical in preventing these activities being used irregularly.

Source: Panamaamerica.com.pa