Financial Crime World

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Evaluation Report: Paraguay ECT

Executive Summary

The Economic Crimes Team (ECT), implemented by the Organization for Transitional Initiatives (OTA), aimed to enhance Paraguay’s Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) system. This report evaluates the ECT’s progress in achieving its four project objectives.

Background

Paraguay was rated non-compliant with FATF Recommendations 23 and 24 in its third-round Mutual Evaluation Report (MER). The country lacked adequate capacity to investigate and prosecute money laundering crimes, and there was no asset forfeiture law.

Project Objectives

The ECT’s workplan outlined four project objectives:

  • Increasing the effectiveness of SEPRELAD’s analysis and reporting: Improve SEPRELAD’s analytical and reporting capacity.
  • Improving AML/CFT case development and creating a financial crimes working group: Establish a formal system for tracking money laundering cases and create a financial crimes task force.
  • Developing an asset forfeiture and recovery program: Assist in drafting an asset forfeiture law and implement it.
  • Enhancing Paraguay’s capacity to investigate and prosecute money laundering cases: Improve institutional capacity and resource allocation.

Evaluation Findings

The evaluation team assessed the ECT’s progress against each project objective:

1. Increasing the effectiveness of SEPRELAD’s analysis and reporting

  • The ECT achieved significant success in this area, with a consensus view among counterparts that SEPRELAD’s analytical and reporting capacity improved substantially.

2. Improving AML/CFT case development and creating a financial crimes working group

  • Progress was made in establishing a formal system for tracking money laundering cases, but the creation of a financial crimes task force was not achieved.

3. Developing an asset forfeiture and recovery program

  • While the ECT assisted in drafting an asset forfeiture law, it was not approved by Congress during the project period.

4. Enhancing Paraguay’s capacity to investigate and prosecute money laundering cases

  • Limited progress was made in this area due to resource constraints and a lack of institutional capacity.

Sustainability and Lessons Learned

The evaluation team assessed which objectives had been sustained over time and why. The report highlights the importance of building institutional capacity, improving resource allocation, and ensuring sustainable outcomes.

GAFILAT Mutual Evaluation Report (MER)

The recent GAFILAT MER supports aspects of the evaluation’s findings, indicating that Paraguay has made progress in strengthening its AML/CFT system. This achievement represents a significant milestone for the country.