El Salvador

The 35th Plenary of the CFATF was opened in the country yesterday
Written by Suchit Chávez
Friday 25 May 2012

Amending the laws against acts of terrorism and against money and asset laundering, or the creation of a law to govern the sending of remittances and financial transfers, were among the requests made yesterday by the Attorney General of the Republic, Romeo Barahona, to the members of the Legislative Assembly.
The Attorney General made the statement at the opening of the 35th Plenary Meeting of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), which began its round of sessions on Monday.
Barahona did not provide concrete details on the legal reforms which, in his opinion, are essential in order to combat money and asset laundering.
Barahona and several officials invited to attend the meeting, such as the Superintendent of the Financial System, Víctor Ramírez, were of the view that the country is in a strong position regarding the prevention of money laundering.

During the week of February 24th to 28th 2014, CFATF/FATF Assessors Training was held in the Republic of El Salvador, for Members of the CFATF and GAFISUD.

The Honorable Luis Antonio Martinez Gonzalez, Attorney General of the Republic of El Salvador and Deputy Chair of the CFATF, welcomed delegates from the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Venezuela during an inaugural lecture. He reassured the high commitment and support of their jurisdiction towards raising compliance with FATF Standards, the application of FATF Methodology and the response to challenges posed by the Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluations.

Participants were warmly received in the premises of the prosecutor’s training facilities (Escuela de Fiscales), within the Attorney General's Office, where they had the opportunity to exchange experiences and go through an intense week of learning. Presentations were conducted by facilitators from FATF, International Monetary Fund and the CFATF. The training also included a Mutual Evaluation exercise.

The CFATF is certain that the group of trained assessors is prepared to positively face the challenges of the Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluations. We thank the Honorable Attorney General and our friends from El Salvador, once again, for their hospitality and warm welcome. We also wish to thank all delegates for their excellent participation.
See you soon friends!

Related articles: click here (only available on their original language)
http://www.fiscalia.gob.sv/vicepresidente-del-gafic-inaugura-seminario-para-evaluadores/
http://www.fiscalia.gob.sv/fiscal-general-clausura-seminario-para-miembros-del-gafic/

The Prosecutor General of the Republic of El Salvador, through the Financial Investigations Unit with the support of the World Bank and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), conducted a National Risk Assessment Workshop from 9 to 11 June 2014 in San Salvador, El Salvador.

The Honorable Attorney General Luis Antonio Martínez González, CFATF Vice Chair opened the Workshop together with Marilyne Pereira Gonçalves and Jania Ibarra of the World Bank, emphasizing the high commitment of El Salvador to combat this scourge and comply with existing laws and regulations for that purpose, as well as to carry out monitoring of internal controls of the financial institutions.

This Workshop is the first stage of the National Risk Assessment process and was designed to assist El Salvador in the self-assessment of the risks of money laundering and financing of terrorism with the participation of a multidisciplinary team, comprised of subject matter experts from different government entities and private entities, which will carry out El Salvador’s National Risk Assessment.

This team comprised of representatives from the Office of the Attorney-General, the Specialized Financial Investigations Unit, Specialized Anti Human Trafficking Crime Unit, Specialized Anti Extortion Crime Unit, Specialized Anti-Corruption Crime Unit, the Supreme Court, Monitoring Council of the Public Accounting Profession and Auditing, Stock Exchange, Salvadoran Banking Association, Central Reserve Bank, Attorney General of the Republic, Ministry of Economy, Financial System Superintendence, Ministry of Finance, Salvadoran Association of Stock Brokers, Salvadoran Association of Insurance Companies, National Civil Police, Financial System Banks and Money Transfer Companies.

During three days of intense activities, participants shared views and exchanged ideas, which resulted in important starting points on the risks and vulnerabilities that affect El Salvador in the field of money laundering and financing of terrorism. Likewise, they also defined action plans for the collection of the information in the different entities, project tracking and completion of the National Risk Assessment.

The CFATF recognizes the progress made by El Salvador and congratulates the authorities on carrying out this Workshop and encourages them keep up the constant efforts to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.

The Prosecutor General of the Republic and CFATF Deputy Chair, Lic. Luis Antonio Martínez, closed the workshop seminar "Exploiting the use of Cash Flows with Foreign countries and Cross-border Cash and the Prevention of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism". Professionals from the Ministry of Finance, National Civil Police (PNC its acronym in Spanish), Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, Judges and from the Central Reserve Bank all participated in the workshop.
Participants at the workshop were trained by Andrés Martínez Calvo and Mariano García Fresno, both recognized international consultants of the Ministry of Economy of Spain on the issue of laundering of money and assets.

"To deal with money laundering, we must apply collective efforts, both domestically and internationally, if we hope to win the war against this scourge," said Prosecutor Martínez.

Participants received Certificates of participation from the Attorney General and the international consultants in the workshop which lasted five days, on the premises of the Escuela de Capacitación Fiscal (Prosecutor Training School).

"Through seminars and workshops like this, we seek to share our skills and best practices and share experiences with professionals like you; on how to stop financial crime" concluded Martínez.