As of June 2020, Panama has been part of the European Commission’s list of high-risk third countries with regards to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT). This means the country is considered as “having strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regime, also based on the fact that these countries were identified in the FATF document ‘Improving Global AML/CFT Compliance: on-going process statement’.”

The training and activities conducted by the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT seek to rectify Panama’s strategic deficiencies in its national anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework. as defined under the Fourth and Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directives.

In March 2021, the EU Global Facility received a request for technical assistance on Beneficial Ownership (BO) and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) from Panama. A month later, a work programme was shared with the country, followed by the kick-off of activities in May. A set of e-training sessions and mentoring activities has been delivered over the next six months.

In October 2021, the EU GF team conducted a scoping mission to Panama to draft a plan of action for the future.

From May 2021 to October 2022, 10 TA activities were delivered by the EU GF to Panama, reaching 195 participants onsite and around 500 online.