The Colombian Superintendency of Corporations has launched a public consultation concerning a proposed modification to the oversight regime governing how risks are handled in the context of the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. The idea is to incorporate the recommendations made by the intergovernmental organization Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which sets the international standard on fighting money laundering and terrorist financing. To see the main modifications proposed to the current regime, click here. Interested parties may send comments to [email protected]. The deadline for receiving comments is December 13, 2019, and after this, the Superintendency will review them and publish a notice in the Official Gazette.  

The purpose of the modification is to ensure that companies subject to the regulation carry out an analysis of their risk exposure and establish their own Laundering and Terrorist Financing Control and Risk Management System, according to the nature of their operations, business, goods and services, commercialization, territory, Counterparts and the Final Beneficiaries of their Counterparts, among other variables.

The proposal refers to ‘Obliged Companies’, meaning those firms providing virtual asset services which belong to the real estate or construction sectors, or work in the trade of metals and precious stones, among other industries. All companies acquiring the status of Obliged Companies as of December 31, 2019, must implement their Control and Risk Management System within a term that may not exceed twelve months as of January 1, 2020.