The recent suspension of Colombia by the Egmont Group, an international network of Financial Intelligence Units (FIU), has triggered a series of significant consequences for the country, mainly in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and other financial crimes.

This decision was motivated by the unauthorized disclosure of classified information by President Gustavo Petro, which revealed details about the alleged purchase of the Pegasus software, information that was supposed to remain confidential and only be shared with the Attorney General's Office. The Egmont Group suspended Colombia due to the leak of sensitive data provided by one of its members, the Israel Financial Intelligence Unit (IMPA), related to the alleged purchase of the Pegasus software.

According to the group's rules, this information was not supposed to be disclosed publicly, however, President Petro revealed these details during a presidential address at the beginning of the month.

The suspension means that Colombia no longer has access to Egmont Secure Web (ESW), the secure platform used by the group's 177 members to exchange critical information on financial crimes, money laundering and terrorist financing; no country voted in favor of Colombia in the decision.

This affects a years-long policy in which the UIAF had been strengthened to achieve international cooperation and a good reputation image of the country before global agencies, to ensure joint operations.

The other financial intelligence units that are members of the group could be reluctant to share information with Colombia, fearing that the confidentiality of their data is not guaranteed, which in turn could further weaken cooperation in the fight against financial crimes.

I wonder if the President's luminary is aware of the damage he is doing to the country or better yet if it is premeditated on the eve of a new electoral campaign; I wonder if we as compliance officers are going to be obliged to continue reporting, and in general all officers, I wonder if we are walking one forward and two backwards in our gambling industry, when we have contributed so much.