Bolivia Faces Fourth Round of Financial Regulation Evaluation

Bolivia’s Progress in Implementing Global Financial Regulations

In a bid to ensure compliance with global financial regulations, Bolivia is set to undergo its fourth round of mutual evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT) this year. This evaluation comes nine years after the country’s initial assessment and aims to assess Bolivia’s progress in implementing and adhering to 40 recommendations issued by GAFI.

Key Aspects of the Evaluation

• International Standards: The evaluation will focus on assessing Bolivia’s national legal system to determine whether it is adequate to international standards on combating money laundering (ML), financing of terrorism (FT), and proliferation financing (PF).
• Institutional Apparatus: The assessment will examine the institutional apparatus required for implementing these measures, including evaluating technical compliance with international standards.
• Risk Assessment: Mutual evaluations are conducted among peers, with GAFILAT member countries providing expert evaluators who assess the risks of ML and FT as well as the context of each country.

Expert Insights

A recent master conference organized by the Association of Private Banks of Bolivia (ASOBAN) brought together senior management executives to discuss their role in preparing for the evaluation. International expert Alejandra Quevedo, a consultant on financial integrity for the World Bank and other organizations, led the discussion. Quevedo highlighted the key concepts, procedures, and methodology used in each mutual evaluation.

Expected Outcomes

The outcome of the evaluation is expected to shed light on Bolivia’s compliance with financial regulations and identify areas for improvement. This will enable the country to take necessary steps to strengthen its regulatory framework and address any deficiencies identified during the evaluation process.