Key facts:
The president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, wants the country to comply with FATF obligations.
The president acknowledged that the law that would regulate bitcoin in Panama is “innovative.”
Since the so-called “Crypto Law” was approved by the National Assembly of Panama and passed the hands of the Executive power last April, for the first time the position of the president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, is known regarding the legislation.
At an event held in Panama, Cortizo said that will not sign the law that regulates bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies, if the text is not rigorous in the rules against money laundering, although he confirmed that he was not fully aware of the legislation.
“With the information I have, which is not enough, I am not going to sign that law. I have to be very careful if the law has clauses related to the control of money laundering activities,” said the Panamanian president during his participation in the Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Latin America conference, according to reported Bloomberg.
Cortizo indicated that Anti-money laundering activities are very important to your government. Although many studies have shown that cybercriminals prefer to launder money with fiat money, such as dollars or euros.
Cortizo’s caution with the legislation that allows the use of bitcoin to access goods and services in the Central American nation is due to the fact that Panama is on a gray list of the International Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The FATF increasingly establishes stricter regulations to regulate the Bitcoin ecosystem. Just a few months ago he published a guide with recommendations such as reducing transactions peer to peer (P2P), view and control operations with cryptocurrencies and censor transfers to non-recommended accounts.
Panama wants to get off the gray list
As reported by CriptoNoticias, Panama was included in the list in 2014 for presenting deficiencies in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. He managed to get out in 2016 but it was reinserted in June 2019 and has remained ever since.
In this sense, the Ministry of Economy and Finance reported that the country has completed 8 of the 15 actions to get off the list, and has also presented “continuously significant and tangible progress in the remaining 7 actions, including legislative amendments.”
Given this scenario, Cortizo possibly he fears that his country will remain on the list or worse yet, that it is a setback in the progress they have made to get out of it if the law that regulates bitcoin in Panama is definitively approved.
Cortizo believes that it is an innovative law
During his participation in the conference, the Panamanian president recognized that it is an “innovative law from what I have heard, it is a good law.” He also said that his country has “a solid financial system” and that he is waiting for “a global regulation of crypto assets.”
It should be remembered that the National Assembly of Panama approved the bill that allows the use of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in that countryas CriptoNoticias reported at the end of April.
Now the Executive has a maximum of thirty business days to return with objections, approve the project or veto it. If in the course of this period he does not submit observations, he will be forced to sanction and promulgate it at the end of 30 days, according to the Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama.