Money laundering in Peru, preventive measures and fight from the public registries
Luis Alberto Aliaga Huaripata
In terms of "money laundering" or "laundering of money or assets" in Peru, we have gained great experience in the field but at the same time many problems remain still unresolved; in this context, the Bank Association (ASBANC) points out that, since January 2007 and March 2016, assets in Peru have been laundered for more than 12,901 million dollars. Since the signing in 1988 of the United Nations Convention or "Vienna Convention", Peru has been aligned with the new strategies of criminalization to be applied in the international context in the face of illicit trafficking and abuse of controlled drugs worldwide (TID); thus, among other measures, "money laundering" derived from the illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (as well as other crimes) was penalized, and a state agency with broad powers called "Financial Intelligence Unit of Peru" (FIU-Peru) was created. The basis of the implementation of these measures is clear: "Since drug trafficking is an economic activity with a business structure, it would only be possible to control it through mechanisms that affect its funding and reinvestment ability, that is, by neutralizing it or limiting the mobility and use of the illegal organization’s resources" (Prado Saldarriaga, Víctor. "The crime of money laundering in Peru"). We fully subscribe to this view. The "Financial Intelligence Unit of Peru" (FIU-Peru) was created through Act 27693 (2002), and its regulation was approved by Supreme Decree 018-2016-JUS (Now Supreme Decree 20-2017-JUS (“El Peruano”, June 10, 2017). This agency has legal personality under public law and has functional, technical and administrative autonomy. Subsequently, through act 29038 (2007) the FIU-Peru was incorporated as a specialized unit into the Superintendence of Banking and Insurance (SBS), and was charged with receiving, analyzing, treating, evaluating and transmitting information for the detection of money laundering and financing of terrorism (LA/FT), as well as contributing to the implementation of the “System for the prevention and control of money-laundering and financing of terrorism” (SPLAFT), a system to detect suspicious transactions through reports arriving from banks, notaries, real estate agencies, etc. Said information is then analyzed and referred to the Public Prosecutor's Office and finally to the judiciary. To that effect, the guidelines and recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) are particularly relevant. (http://www.fatf-gafi.org/). As to the Public Registry of Peru (National System of Public Registries, SINARP) -whose governing body is the National Superintendence of Public Registries (SUNARP)-, this entity does not belong to the “System for the prevention and control of money-laundering and financing of terrorism”; however, being a governmental entity that takes part in the general anti-money laundering system and against the financing of terrorism, it is obliged to provide information when it is needed for the fulfillment of the FIU-Peru’s functions, and to permanently cooperate by providing technical support in registration matters when required. It should be noted that SUNARP is part of the "Multisectorial Executive Commission against money laundering and financing of terrorism" - CONTRALAFT, attached to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, MINJUS (chaired by the Ministry of said portfolio and whose secretariat corresponds to the SBS, represented by the UIF-Peru). Said Commission was created through Supreme Decree 057-2011-PCM, which also approved the "National Plan against money laundering and financing of terrorism". The Commission’s objective is to assist in the coordination and planning of actions by public and private entities aimed at preventing and combating ML / TF crimes, as well as monitoring the implementation, compliance and updating of the aforementioned Plan (in addition, SUNARP signed a cooperation agreement with the UIF-Peru and has a...
Event: Land Governance in an Interconnected World_Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty_2018
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