CABEI's contribution in the fight against money laundering
As the most relevant multilateral organization in the region and the most significant channeler of external funds to Central America, the issue of anti-laundering is predominant in CABEI's institutional agenda.
Tegucigalpa, October 29, 2018.- The National Day for the Prevention of Money Laundering is commemorated today; the date was proposed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to raise awareness of the issue at the public and private levels.
The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) joins this global initiative by sharing the actions and control measures that the supranational financial institution implements.
Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (ML-TF) are linked to other preceding crimes such as counterfeiting, fraud, contraband, extortion, corruption and drug trafficking which directly affect the stability of society.
Aware of the evolution of this problem, CABEI works articulately through its systems and regulations to prevent money laundering. The Bank is prepared with regard to the prevention and control of money laundering, not only by promoting processes of awareness and self-regulation, but also by establishing training programs, in conjunction with other Latin American financial organizations, and making efforts so that public institutions and private parties involved in the prevention chain implement best practices in the field.
Strengthening of the internal regulatory framework and reporting channels
CABEI has a Policy for the Prevention of Money Laundering and a Policy of Antifraud, Anti-corruption and other Prohibited Practices that dictate the foundations and principles to ensure that the Bank's products and services are not used to give the appearance of legality to funds that are the product of illicit activities or serve to channel licit or illicit resources destined for terrorist activities. In addition, they dictate guidelines to prevent CABEI from having relationships with counterparts that present signs or links to these types of crimes.
At the institutional level, precautions are taken to ensure adequate knowledge of the counterparts; there is a commitment involving all levels of corporate governance and, in general, all personnel to strictly comply with and apply the internal provisions that regulate the matter.
In addition to the above and aware that social auditing is necessary, CABEI has put into operation various reporting mechanisms: reporting channel, voicemail and email, among others.
Train to prevent
A key contribution to the prevention of ML-TF in the region by CABEI has been its internal and external training program. Every year, the Bank's employees receive specialized training in this field; the commitment to prevent ML-TF stems from the empowerment that knowledge on the matter provides from within the Bank.
External training is aimed at the regional financial sector, through workshops that strengthen existing technical capacities: updating regulations, risk management, exchange of experiences and international trends. These are some of the issues that CABEI promotes in collaboration with local entities specialized in the prevention of ML-TF.
All these actions are aimed at safeguarding that CABEI be linked to ML-TF, protecting its image and equity and fulfilling its institutional objective of promoting development in the region.
