In the midst of the discussion of the bill that modernizes the mechanisms against money laundering in Guatemala, As part of an international requirement in the Congress of the Republic, the Special Verification Intendancy (IVE), equivalent to the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), indicated that in the first quarter the amount reported to the Public Ministry (MP) was contracted.
The official data, updated in the statistical bulletin as of March, indicate that the amount reported to the Prosecutor’s Office is Q1,706 million, which means a reduction of 67.7% compared to the first quarter of last year, when it was Q5,283 million.
The amounts reported by the IVE, an entity attached to the Superintendency of Banks (SIB), would be related to drug trafficking, smuggling, human trafficking, extortion and corruption, among other crimes, which use various mechanisms for money laundering.
The IVE authorities have explained that in Guatemala there are already cases related to crypto assets, which are being followed up.
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In 2025, The total amount reported was Q15,967 million, This figure is higher than the Q9,133 million in 2024 and the Q8,203 million in 2023, according to official figures.
Compliance reduces complaints for money laundering
For Guillermo Díaz Castellanos, coordinator of the Research Institute in Sociohumanist Sciences of the Rafael Landívar University (URL), the statistics on the amounts reported and The drop observed in the first quarter is explained by better compliance by people and companies in providing information on the origin of their funds..
This mechanism, he explained, also responds to the banks’ work to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering Law.
When asked about this trend and what would be expected for the end of the year, Díaz Castellanos assured that at the end of the year a lower number of complaints and amounts will be registered compared to other periods.
Anti-money laundering law will raise financial demands
Díaz Castellanos mentions that, with the progress in the approval of initiative 6593, “Comprehensive Law against Money Laundering or Other Assets and the Financing of Terrorism”, changes in the statistical indicators of the IVE could be expected before the conclusion of the regular period of sessions in the Congress of the Republic.
The amount reported to the Prosecutor’s Office is Q1,706 million, which means a reduction of 67.7% compared to the first quarter of last year, when it was Q5,283 million.
In his opinion, with the approval of the new law against money laundering, a reduction in complaints can be expected, because it makes it more difficult to carry out this crime. “There will be more and more demanding requirements. Compliance will be a new function that companies will perform; failure to do so would make their operations more difficult,” he stated.
He added that banks and credit unions will have to be more careful in documenting the origin of funds. “If they do not demonstrate where the money comes from, clients or associates will not be able to carry out operations,” he emphasized.
Less involved in laundering cases
The IVE bulletin indicates that, due to the number of people involved, in the first quarter of 2026, 490 files were registered, which means a reduction of 50% compared to the same period last year, when they stood at 987.
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Likewise, 83 complaints were presented to the Public Ministry (MP) in 2026, a figure greater than the 77 in the same period of 2025.
In the quarter, The IVE has known 1,598 reports of suspicious transactions (RTS); In the same period of 2025 they reached 1,677.
Regarding the amount of domain forfeiture reports, in the first quarter of 2026 it was Q49.2 million, with six reports. In 2025 it closed with an amount of Q182 million; in 2024, Q785 million, and in 2023, Q309 million, according to the statistical history of the IVE.