{"id":5179,"date":"2025-07-28T12:44:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T17:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panamcham.rewind10.com\/panama-exits-the-eu-high-risk-list-a-firm-step-toward-attracting-investment\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T12:44:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T17:44:00","slug":"panama-exits-the-eu-high-risk-list-a-firm-step-toward-attracting-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panamcham.rewind10.com\/en\/panama-exits-the-eu-high-risk-list-a-firm-step-toward-attracting-investment\/","title":{"rendered":"Panama Exits the EU High-Risk List: A Firm Step Toward Attracting Investment and International Confidence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>By: Ana Clement <\/strong>&#8211; Chair of the Trade and Investment Committee \/ Senior Manager and Practice Leader | EY Law Panama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On July 9, 2025, the European Parliament approved Panama\u2019s removal from the list of high-risk countries for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. With 373 votes in favor, 289 against and 26 abstentions, this decision represents more than a mere technical formality: it is a firm step toward restoring the country\u2019s image and its full reinsertion into international compliance standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Panama\u2019s inclusion on this list in 2020 did not entail formal sanctions, it did produce decisive practical effects. European financial institutions had to apply enhanced controls, which translated into a perception of risk that affected investments, banking relationships and commercial operations. The removal eliminates those operational and reputational barriers, allowing Panama to recover its status as a cooperative jurisdiction before Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A key turning point was Panama\u2019s exit from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in October 2023, after addressing observations on the identification of beneficial owners, the strengthening of supervision of regulated entities and the effective application of sanctions. This progress was the product of a public-private effort that made it possible to implement reforms effectively and to demonstrate concrete results. Validated by the FATF, that technical progress was decisive in leading the European Commission to recommend the removal, stating that Panama had successfully addressed the strategic deficiencies and no longer represented a significant threat to the European Union\u2019s financial system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the European process demanded more than technical criteria. The Parliament\u2019s political approval was indispensable, and it was not achieved on the first attempt in July 2024. Although Panama had already met the criteria required by the Commission, the proposal was assessed together with other countries such as Gibraltar and the United Arab Emirates, which raised reservations among some members of the European Parliament. According to Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Hoyos, historical perceptions and the regional context influenced that initial outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Behind the favorable vote of this July 9 there was a clear political will, together with a strategic alignment of communication and diplomacy that made it possible to reinforce confidence and consolidate the much-needed political backing. President Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino summed it up firmly: \u201cPanama is not a country of lists. It is not fair for a cooperating country to be stigmatized. We have demonstrated through facts that we comply, and now the world recognizes it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The economic benefits of this removal are far-reaching, even if they may not be perceived in the daily life of the ordinary citizen. Their scope goes beyond the immediate: it strengthens our financial position, consolidates the country\u2019s international reputation and creates more favorable conditions for attracting quality investment. This translates into greater access to financing, a stronger banking center and new international projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a nation, we should feel proud of this significant progress, but also aware that keeping technical capacity aligned with political will is indispensable. The review processes of international bodies such as the FATF and the European Union are continuous, and Panama will be assessed again between 2026 and 2027. The challenge now is to sustain that commitment, building on the lessons learned. Compliance must be consolidated as a permanent practice in the best interest of our country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On July 9, 2025, the European Parliament approved Panama\u2019s removal from the list of high-risk countries for the prevention of money laundering and\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"comite":[15],"class_list":["post-5179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-noticias","comite-comercio-e-inversion"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/panamcham.rewind10.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/panamcham.rewind10.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/panamcham.rewind10.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panamcham.rewind10.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panamcham.rewind10.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/panamcham.rewind10.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5179\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/panamcham.rewind10.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panamcham.rewind10.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panamcham.rewind10.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5179"},{"taxonomy":"comite","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panamcham.rewind10.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comite?post=5179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}