Although the reforms to the Comprehensive Law against Money Laundering or Other Assets and the Financing of Terrorism (initiative 6593) have already passed their third reading, the deputies opened yesterday a new phase of review of amendments in the Economy and Foreign Trade Commission headed by Deputy Jorge Ayala, who presides, who explained that the process remains under analysis to organize the observations and avoid gaps in the norm.
“We are reviewing the amendments with technical support to clarify doubts. The idea is to build consensus, but with a well-supported law,” he indicated.
During the session, legislators reiterated the need to technical support from the Superintendency of Banks and other experts, especially on topics such as suspicious transactions, digital records and the scope of obligations.
The commission confirmed that it has received several amendment proposals raised by legislators, which will be analyzed by the technical team before continuing with their discussion in plenary.
That decision adds more time for its eventual inclusion in the agenda because extraordinary meetings will be called for the middle of next week to refine the changes, which shows that the law It is not yet ready for approval in the final draft.
Ayala explained that the next step will be to structure a comparative document to facilitate the analysis within the commission.
“We are going to make a table, consolidate the amendments and distribute them among members for evaluation,” he said of the new meetings in the coming days. “We will be calling meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday to advance the necessary consensus”he stated.
Finally, he indicated that the objective is to move towards its approval before the legislative recess, although conditional on the agreements. “The intention is to approve it in the last sessions before the recess, but it will depend on us reaching consensus on the amendments,” he said.
Representatives of the Superintendence of Banks (SIB)the Guatemala Banking Association and the Chamber of Finance of Guatemalawho provided technical input in the review of the initiative.
President speaks of previous consensus
The president of the Congress of the Republic, Luis Contrerascalled on deputies to present their proposals for change to advance agreements.
“What we are looking for is to arrive with amendments already agreed upon. We do not want changes that have not been agreed upon to be proposed in the plenary session.”, he expressed.
The president of the Legislature pointed out that, for this reason, it has been decided to take more time and hold meetings with deputies who still have doubts about the content of the initiative. “I have been meeting with deputies and I am going to continue doing so. The idea is that, if there are doubts, they also present concrete proposals on how to resolve them, not just point out problems,” he indicated.
Contreras added that, although there is the intention to schedule the initiative before the parliamentary recess, this will depend on achieving a broad consensus.
“I cannot guarantee that it will be approved in plenary, but I believe that there are conditions to achieve it. In any case, both I and the Board of Directors are going to support these laws,” he stated.
However, this call occurs in the middle of a discussion that remains open and without certainty of when it can be realized the final vote.
The deputy Julio Hector Estrada He explained that his proposals focus on three aspects that range from the record keeping, use of risk reports as evidence and precautionary measures.
About him article 34warned that the obligation to retain records for more than a decade may be excessive for certain sectors.
“The standard is to keep five years after ending the relationship with the client, but the law adds ten more years in digital format. That works for banks, but not for a real estate agency, a jewelry store or an independent professional,” he explained.
For this reason, he proposed limiting this requirement to larger-scale entities. “The proposal is that these ten additional years apply to regulated or larger entities, to avoid legal problems for small providers that cannot comply with that level of protection.””, he indicated.
Regarding the use of suspicious transaction reports, he noted that these They should not be used as direct evidence.
“It is preventive information, not proof. “The Public Ministry must do its own investigation and not rely solely on these reports,” he stated, adding that these reports should be considered indications.
“Suspicious transactions are a starting point, but to prosecute a case you need your own investigation. There have been excesses in using these reports almost as evidence,” he warned.
He also questioned the duration of some precautionary measures. “They can be issued, but the judge must resolve within a reasonable period of time. There cannot be people with restrictions for years without a judicial decision,” he said.
Other deputies, Ayala explained, have proposed adjustments to the definition of terrorism, the burden of proof and the conditions for politically exposed persons, which keeps the debate open.
Although the initiative responds to the country’s commitments to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the lack of technical consensus keeps its final approval on hold.