The Superintendency of Banks (SIB), through the Special Verification Intendency (IVE), prepares the regulations for Decree 15-2026, Comprehensive Law against Money Laundering or Other Assets and the Financing of Terrorism, and has already begun the rapprochement process with various sectors.
The SIB presented to the Monetary Board (JM) a schedule of the phases to prepare the regulations of the law, which includes the considering part and the chapter structure.
SIB socializes anti-money laundering regulations
The head of the SIB, Saulo De León Durán, explained that a schedule of activities is maintained, which is under development.
He confirmed that the preliminary draft of the regulations is already available.
“Starting this week we would be calling on interested sectors, obligated people, to be able to make a prior dissemination of this regulation. Obviously we are also going to disseminate it with some international organizations that were collaborating with us, promoting, making incidents on the law,” said the head of the SIB.
He explained that the anti-money laundering law will take effect on September 17.
“As of September 17, there is a period of six months in which the regulations are required to be in place. We are not going to wait six months,” he declared.
He reiterated that there is a schedule with which it is expected to have a regulation finalized, socialized and widely discussedso that it is ready for publication by the Executive in the last weeks of September of this year.
The Superintendency of Banks, through the Special Verification Intendancy, must prepare the regulations and submit them to the knowledge and consideration of the President of the Republic within a maximum period of six months, counted from the entry into force of the decree.
New law seeks to protect the country
- The new anti-money laundering law modernizes financial controls and removes Guatemala from the risk of entering the gray list with Decree 15-2026, Comprehensive Law for the Prevention and Repression of Money Laundering or Other Assets and the Financing of Terrorism.
- The regulatory framework to prevent and combat money laundering in Guatemala was modernized in accordance with international standards, with a risk-based approach and the obligation to identify the final beneficiary.
- Now the implementation and compliance phase of the new regulations will begin.
- Starting in 2027, Guatemala will be subjected to the fifth round of mutual evaluations of the International Financial Action Task Force (Gafi) and the Latin American Financial Action Task Force (Gafilat).
- This consists of a review of the country’s system to prevent and combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism (ML/FT).
- The country receives a rating that allows it to determine whether its anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) system is effective. Additionally, the process provides recommendations to correct identified deficiencies and strengthen the system.