PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – Panama has been removed from the gray list of financial crime watchdog FATF, a register which includes countries deemed to be doing too little to combat money laundering, according to a government statement on Friday.
Panama’s first stint on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) so-called gray list, which can impact a country’s investment ratings and reputation, was from 2014 to 2016.
It was added back again in 2019.
Panama’s Deputy Financial Minister Jorge Almengor had told Reuters in June he expected Panama to be excluded from the list this month, after authorities had addressed watchdog requests to boost financial transparency.
Almengor had said this was an urgent issue so Panama could reclaim its place as a financial hub.
Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo celebrated the decision on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
(Reporting by Elida Moreno; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Sarah Morland)
