Central America

Forum on money laundering and financial crimes to be held in Costa Rica

Photo: News in America

February 7^th |

Costa Rica will host the World Compliance Forum in early March, which will address the most innovative tools against financial crime, organizers announced today.

The event, organized by the Foundation for the Study of Money Laundering (Felade), in alliance with the University for Peace, will be held on March 2 and 3, in person at the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel, but will also have a virtual space.

Felade and the University for Peace announced that 350 compliance officers and specialists from Latin America have already confirmed their attendance, while they added that the broad agenda of conferences and panels will be in charge of more than 20 outstanding specialists from Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Chile and Costa Rica.

According to the organizers, the Forum, whose theme will be The Age of Digital Compliance, is a unique window on the latest legislative developments and the most innovative tools to protect entities from money laundering, fraud and financial crime.

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They also said that participants will address topics such as metaverse, cryptoassets, artificial intelligence for fraud prediction and detection and digital threats and vulnerabilities.

The president of Felade, José Quesada, said that the entry into the digital world has placed us in front of new threats and therefore, he said, it is very important that we begin to visualize the real risks that exist at the level of new digital platforms.

Beyond the clear knowledge we have of crimes on the physical level, we need to better understand where crimes are migrating to in the virtual part and that is why this Forum is focused on current issues such as cryptocurrencies and will analyze successful cases in the financial industry and the prevention of money laundering, Quesada said.

For his part, the rector of the University for Peace, Francisco Rojas, said that organized crime and its activities, such as money laundering, are the greatest threats to democracy in Latin America.

For this reason, the event represents an opportunity to debate these issues with experts and offer new perspectives on the fight against organized crime for professionals and decision makers in the region. The organizers said that among the most relevant conferences of the Forum are The use of artificial intelligence for fraud prediction and detection, Web3 and the metaverse and Cryptocurrencies and their tax treatment.

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In addition, they added, there will be panels on illicit financial flows, tax transparency, the outlook for the legality of cryptoassets, and regulatory prospects for 2023.

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Panama grants Martinelli 72-hour extension to travel to Nicaragua

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“The National Government has decided to extend the validity of the safe-conduct pass for an additional seventy-two (72) hours, until the end of Thursday, April 3, 2025,” the Panamanian Foreign Ministry stated in a communiqué. The original permit was set to expire Monday at midnight (05:00 GMT on Tuesday).

The Foreign Ministry explained that regarding the ‘humanitarian asylum’ granted to Martinelli last Thursday, which was set to expire Monday at midnight, the Nicaraguan government requested clarifications about an apparent Interpol alert, which had already been dismissed as inadmissible.

Additionally, the Panamanian Supreme Court of Justice, as the highest authority of the Judicial Branch, stated on Monday that it had “no objections” to granting asylum and a safe-conduct to Martinelli, as it falls under the jurisdiction of the Executive Branch.

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U.S. Homeland Security Secretary urges Mexico to strengthen Guatemala border

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“I gave her a list of things that President Trump would love to see. And it was exceptional. It was supposed to be a half-hour meeting, but we talked for nearly two hours. It was very productive,” Noem said in an interview with Fox News.

The Homeland Security Secretary requested that Sheinbaum, who has already deployed 10,000 National Guard troopsalong Mexico’s northern border with the U.S., also secure Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala.

Noem added that she also asked the Mexican president to share biometric data with the U.S., to which Sheinbaum responded that she was “willing to discuss it,” although she acknowledged that it could be a controversial issue in her country.

Central America

Panama police clarifies that Interpol alert for Martinelli is still pending

Panama’s National Police clarified on Sunday that an Interpol alert request for former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) is still under review and has yet to be confirmed. Martinelli was granted a safe-conduct pass last Thursday to leave the Nicaraguan embassy, where he has been seeking asylum since February 2024 after being convicted of corruption.

“The National Police clarifies that there is currently an active process for an Interpol alert, requested by Judge Baloisa Marquínez, against former President Ricardo Martinelli. This request must be analyzed by Interpol’s General Secretariat (headquartered in France) for approval or rejection. If approved, it will be notified to member countries,” the police stated in a press release sent to EFE.

According to the statement, “at the moment, it remains an ongoing procedure, and former President Martinelli does not have a confirmed alert.”

The announcement came hours after National Police Director Jaime Fernández had told the press that an “Interpol alert” for Martinelli had been received on Friday.