UN List as a means of mitigating money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

For many years, several countries, including Panama, have taken various measures for the prevention of money laundering, financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

In our legal system we can find various rules and measures, however, among the most used we can find the so-called “UN List” which are nothing more than Restrictive or binding lists issued by the Security Council of the United Nations in which all persons and entities subject to sanctions are included.

In the specific case of Panama, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Financial Analysis Unit better known as the (FAU) receives the updates of the UN List and disseminates them through the platform to all regulated entities, in order to be compared with the database of clients, and if there is a match, the corresponding reports are made within a period of 12 working hours.

In view of the above, it is of utmost importance to make all clients aware of the role played by the compliance departments of the firms, in order to comply with the know-your-client policies, keep the information in the database updated to rule out possible findings, above all comply with the legal system and regulatory bodies, control and mitigate reputational risks and most importantly to contribute with our society by preventing these crimes that affect countries in their business relationships and the safety of their citizens.

In summary, we must keep in mind that the compliance officer has an important mission within each organization, but without the support of the company, its employees, and clients this would be a very difficult, tedious, and almost impossible task to perform. We must see the compliance officer as our best ally because they take care of the health of our business and clients.