Colombian Justice Minister Margarita Cabello Blanco chaired the recent meeting of the Group of Experts to Control Money Laundering (GELAVEX), an advisory body belonging to the Organization of American States. The inauguration took place within the framework of the XLVII GELAVEX Meeting held in Colombia on September 24 and 25, attended by public officials, members of civil society and private entities from the Americas and other countries. At the meeting, delegates were able to  exchange experiences, progress, achievements and challenges in formulating and implementing strategies to tackle organized crime. Colombia will now be prioritizing anti-money laundering initiatives on its national agenda, according to Espinosa Palacios, Vice Minister of Criminal Policy and Restorative Justice of the Ministry of Justice, who said that “What we want is to consolidate a transnational strategy with specific initiatives so that the region can finally be free of money laundering.” 

In her speech, Minister Cabello stated that money laundering continues to be one of the main sources of income for criminal structures. However, she recognized that interrupting capital flows and obstructing wealth accumulation by criminal organizations should be strategic objectives to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. The Colombian representative urged countries to strengthen international cooperation in the fight against money laundering and share mechanisms such as extradition, legal assistance for evidence gathering, and the imposition of precautionary measures to freeze illegally-obtained assets.

GELAVEX, created in 1990, is one of the OAS advisory bodies that has drafted model legislation and good practice recommendations aimed at combating money laundering through international cooperation. These documents are used by OAS member states to help them bring their domestic legislation into line with international standards.