One of the main tasks of the Latin American Financial Action Task Force (GAFILAT), an intergovernmental organization that brings together 18 Latin American countries, is to prevent and combat the laundering of proceeds from illicit activities. An essential part of this objective is the tracking, seizure and confiscation of such assets in order to reduce the economic potential of criminal organizations and discourage criminal acts. This is the specific task of the GAFILAT Asset Recovery Network (RRAG), in which each member country has designated two points of contact, usually from the public prosecutor’s office and the police, but also involving asset recovery and management offices or financial intelligence units (FIUs).
The XX Meeting of RRAG Points of Contact and the High Level Meeting on Asset Recovery were held in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) on November 28, 29 and 30, 2023.
During the meeting, COPOLAD III presented a series of tools developed in coordination with GAFILAT, including best practice guides on asset forfeiture and parallel financial investigations. The technical improvements incorporated into the RRAG platform for the exchange of information between the contact points of the member countries were also presented.
Best practice guides
During the working sessions, COPOLAD presented a series of tools developed in coordination with GAFILAT, including best practice guides on asset forfeiture and parallel financial investigations. The technical improvements incorporated into the RRAG platform for the exchange of information between the contact points of the member countries were also presented.
Within the framework of the meetings, a proposal for a declaration to be presented for adoption by the GAFILAT Plenary of Representatives on December 2023 was agreed upon, in order to reiterate the commitment of national authorities on asset recovery. Recent changes in the GAFI international standards on asset recovery were also presented and discussed.
