Panama achieves historic removal from the European Union's high-risk list

Posted on 2025-07-09

The Government of the Republic of Panama announces that during the plenary session of the European Parliament held on July 9, 2025, in Strasbourg, France, Delegated Act C (2025) 3815 was approved, amending Delegated Regulation 2016/1675 and officially removing Panama from the list of high-risk jurisdictions regarding the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

This decision represents a landmark achievement for the country and recognizes Panama’s sustained commitment to strengthening its legal and regulatory framework. Under the leadership of President José Raúl Mulino and through coordinated work between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Panama has successfully implemented structural reforms aligned with the highest international standards of financial transparency.

“This decision reflects the international community’s trust in the reforms driven by Panama and its capacity to guarantee a transparent, secure, and cooperative financial environment,” said an official government source.

Direct Benefits for Panama

Panama’s removal from the European Union’s high-risk list brings a series of immediate and long-term benefits:

• Strengthening of the country’s international reputation among investors, multilateral organizations, and trading partners.
• Improvement of the business climate by fostering greater confidence in Panama’s financial system.
• Elimination of enhanced due diligence measures, facilitating transactions with European financial institutions.
• Boost to the competitiveness of Panama’s financial and logistics hub.
• Stimulation of foreign trade by streamlining import and export processes.

Panama reaffirms its commitment to maintaining robust legislation, strengthened institutions, and effective cooperation with international bodies, in line with the principles of legality, transparency, and sustainable development.