Chile’s Chamber of Deputies Citizen Security Commission unanimously approved in general (9 votes) a Ministry of Finance-backed bill to create an Economic Intelligence Subsystem and introduce prevention and early-warning measures targeting economic activity linked to organised crime. The bill, which is in its second constitutional stage under “immediate discussion” urgency, aims to trace money flows associated with money laundering, terrorist financing and related offences by strengthening economic intelligence and analysis, enabling earlier detection of suspicious operations, and bolstering intrusive and sanctioning powers. The proposed subsystem would combine the Financial Analysis Unit’s (UAF) intelligence function with new units to be created within the Internal Revenue Service (SII) and the National Customs Service, tasked with collecting and jointly analysing information and issuing alerts to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the State Intelligence System. The framework would also update rules applicable to the subsystem agencies and other economic supervisors, including the Financial Market Commission (CMF), the Superintendence of Casinos and Games, and the Treasury General of the Republic, to support prevention and early-warning activities. The bill explicitly preserves the restricted nature of UAF financial intelligence by exempting it from sharing Suspicious Transaction Reports (ROS) with other subsystem members and from providing information linked to prosecutors’ requests or UAF reports sent to prosecutors. On bank-secrecy access, the Undersecretary of Finance noted that Senate-stage provisions that would have retained judicial authorisation as the general rule while allowing limited administrative access for the UAF in three defined scenarios are no longer part of the bill after being rejected by the Senate plenary, though their inclusion could be reassessed during the article-by-article debate. The initiative also modernises Penal Code offences for gambling to support enforcement against illegal gambling and related laundering risks, alongside higher fines and administrative sanctions, and aligns with the separate legislative proposal on regulating online betting.

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