The advisor of the National Secretariat for the Fight against Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, Ricardo Gil, warned that if Uruguay were evaluated today by the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (Gafilat), it would probably enter the so-called “gray list”.

It is a classification that includes countries with strategic deficiencies in the prevention of money laundering.

According to the official, in the last evaluation of 2019, Uruguay had already been “on the verge” of that list.

He remarked that the entry to that list could have negative consequences for the national economy, by generating distrust in international markets and increasing controls on transactions with Uruguayan entities.

Gil pointed out before Parliament the need to strengthen investigation and supervision capacities, and to update the regulatory framework, to ensure that the country maintains its commitment to international standards of transparency and prevention of economic crime.

jdt/jav/mem/ool