Money laundering. LAFT. Colombia has one of the most rigorous systems for the prevention of LAFT in Latin America, according to LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a global company dedicated to the analysis of data from a large number of industries, since money laundering affects the entire economy and is A common denominator in several sectors.
Qualifying in this way as high-risk industries to the sectors where the companies of casinos, money orders, remittances and electronic currency are submerged.
It goes without saying that the luck and chance game industry has been praised by several experts such as the director of the UIAF, Javier Alberto Gutiérrez López, in his work against money laundering and terrorist financing.
“In what has to do in money laundering and terrorist financing, they are working very hard to train industry actors who have a lot of knowledge not only of laundering but also about the source of money laundering crimes, about typologies or modus money laundering operandi and are creating an important protection or defense barrier so that no money of criminal origin is entered into the sector. ”
However, as he clarified in an interview for Mundo Video, David Schwartz still has a strong foreign pressure on Colombian banks that simply prevents the relationship with the industry.
“There is a certain pressure that comes from abroad, in terms of correspondent banks, because the casino and gambling sector is considered as a sector of higher or higher risk. Then it puts a certain pressure on not having contact with this sector and this is problematic, the pressure is very strong you will see.”
Within the economic flow of a country, it can be presented in three forms of money laundering in companies which are:
1. Placement: Criminal organizations introduce money into the financial system or through movable or immovable property.
2. Diversification: Complex layers of financial transactions are used to hinder the search for the origin of the funds.
3. Integration: The money already legitimized in obtaining any financial product movable or immovable property is introduced.
According to a study by LexisNexis Risk Solutions, conducted in Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia.
In 64% of banks or financial institutions in the country, regulatory compliance initiatives on prevention issues of LAFT generate friction with customers, so between 3% and 4% of new account opening requests , end up being withdrawn by the customer or in delays at the time of opening or final part of the process.
However, these practices in cost issues mean that approximately 74% of companies are affected by their productivity in about 46 hours (full-time equivalent each year), with costs amounting to $ 147 million dollars a year, speaking in banking entities.
The reduction of commercial risk is the main driver for 67% of Colombian financial institutions in the search for cost reduction, while for American companies it is 28%.
