Uruguay Makes Significant Strides in Combating Financial Crime
Uruguay has demonstrated a robust commitment to addressing money laundering and terrorist financing risks, according to the latest Mutual Evaluation Report 2020 from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The report assesses the country’s progress across various key areas, including risk assessment, national cooperation, and regulation of financial institutions.
Key Areas of Compliance
Uruguay has achieved substantial compliance in several critical aspects, earning “largely compliant” ratings in areas such as:
- Assessing Risk and Applying a Risk-Based Approach (R.1)
- Uruguay’s risk assessment framework is comprehensive and regularly updated.
- The country applies a risk-based approach to supervising and regulating financial institutions.
- Confiscation and Provisional Measures (R.4)
- Uruguay has implemented effective confiscation procedures for proceeds of crime.
- The country also has in place provisional measures to freeze assets suspected of being linked to money laundering or terrorist financing.
- Terrorist Financing Offence (R.5)
- Uruguay has a robust legal framework to combat terrorist financing, including clear definitions and penalties for related offenses.
- Targeted Financial Sanctions Related to Terrorism and Terrorist Financing (R.6)
- The country maintains an effective system for implementing targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing.
- Targeted Financial Sanctions Related to Proliferation (R.7)
- Uruguay has implemented targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation, in line with international standards.
- Customer Due Diligence (R.10)
- The country requires financial institutions to conduct customer due diligence, including identification and verification of customers.
- Money or Value Transfer Services (R.14)
- Uruguay regulates money or value transfer services, requiring them to implement effective anti-money laundering measures.
- Wire Transfers (R.16)
- The country has implemented effective systems for monitoring and reporting wire transfers.
Areas for Improvement
While Uruguay has made significant progress in combating financial crime, there are areas for improvement, including:
- National Cooperation and Coordination (R.2)
- The country’s national cooperation and coordination framework could be strengthened to improve information sharing between agencies.
- Regulation and Supervision of Financial Institutions (R.26)
- Uruguay’s regulation and supervision of financial institutions could be improved to ensure that they are effectively implementing anti-money laundering measures.
- Powers of Supervisors (R.27)
- The country’s powers of supervisors could be strengthened to enable them to conduct effective on-site inspections and investigations.
- Transparency and Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons (R.24)
- Uruguay’s transparency and beneficial ownership framework for legal persons could be improved to ensure that companies are transparent about their ownership structures.
- Transparency and Beneficial Ownership of Legal Arrangements (R.25)
- The country’s transparency and beneficial ownership framework for legal arrangements could be improved to ensure that trusts and other arrangements are transparent about their beneficiaries.
Uruguay’s Commitment to Addressing Financial Crime Investigation Techniques
Uruguay’s commitment to addressing financial crime investigation techniques will help maintain the country’s position as a stable and secure jurisdiction, both domestically and internationally. The country’s efforts to strengthen its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, particularly in enhancing risk assessment capabilities, improving customer due diligence practices, and implementing targeted financial sanctions, are commendable.