The Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT) carried out a high-level mission to Costa Rica on 3–4 March 2026, marking the formal start of the country’s fifth-round mutual evaluation. The visit opened the assessment process and engaged senior national authorities on the scope of the exercise and the institutional commitment expected under Financial Action Task Force standards. GAFILAT’s delegation, led by Executive Secretary Esteban Fullin and the organisation’s current and former pro tempore leadership, met with Costa Rica’s full set of anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and counter-proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF) competent authorities, including the Financial Intelligence Unit, the Costa Rican Institute on Drugs, financial and designated non-financial business and profession supervisors, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the judiciary and security forces. The agenda also included meetings with representatives from the financial sector and designated non-financial businesses and professions, and covered the evaluation’s scope and the need for coordinated action across public agencies and the private sector. GAFILAT noted that the mutual evaluation will be used to measure technical compliance and the effectiveness of Costa Rica’s AML/CFT/CPF system, and thanked the Costa Rican Financial Intelligence Unit for organising the mission.
Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT) 2026-03-17
Financial Action Task Force of Latin America begins Costa Rica fifth-round mutual evaluation with high-level visit
GAFILAT initiated Costa Rica's fifth-round mutual evaluation with a high-level mission on 3–4 March 2026. The mission engaged senior national authorities and AML/CFT/CPF stakeholders to discuss the evaluation's scope and commitments. GAFILAT emphasized the assessment's role in measuring Costa Rica's compliance and effectiveness in combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.