Ecuador’s AML/CFT Efforts Praised, but Room for Improvement Remains: Report

In January 2023, the Mutual Evaluation Report released by GAFILAT praised Ecuador’s “significant efforts” to identify and assess its money laundering and terrorist financing risks. The country has made significant progress in developing a national risk assessment, which enables competent authorities to gain a good understanding of the country’s ML/TF risks.

National Risk Assessment

In 2021, Ecuador developed and approved a national risk assessment, marking a major step forward in its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) efforts. This assessment enabled competent authorities to better understand the country’s ML/TF risks and take targeted measures to mitigate them.

Room for Improvement

Despite this progress, there is still scope for improvement in the implementation of AML/CFT standards in Ecuador. In response, the country has requested technical assistance from the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT to enhance its national framework.

Technical Assistance

A scoping mission was conducted by the project’s team in February 2023, during which they met with key stakeholders to develop a tailored work programme aimed at supporting Ecuador’s efforts to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime as outlined under the Fourth and Fifth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives.

Key Objectives

The technical assistance aims to:

• Enhance Ecuador’s national framework for AML/CFT
• Strengthen the country’s risk assessment and mitigation measures
• Improve international cooperation and information sharing
• Increase awareness and understanding of AML/CFT requirements among relevant stakeholders

By implementing these objectives, Ecuador can further improve its AML/CFT regime and better align with international standards.