May.18, 2010, 4:24 P.M. ET
QUITO (Dow Jones)--Ecuador expects to be taken off in June from a list of nations that don't meet international standards in their fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, Ecuador's Attorney General Diego Garcia said Tuesday.
The Financial Action Task Force, FATF, a multilateral organization, in February included Ecuador in a list of countries with shortcomings in their ability to prosecute money laundering and fight terrorist financing. The FATF said Ecuador had failed to deliver a high-level political commitment to address these problems.
Other countries in the FATF list include Iran, Ethiopia, Angola and North Korea.
The FATF is scheduled to meet next month.
"If we submit an action plan and our political commitment, the FATF should take us out of that list during the June 21-25 meetings," Garcia said during a conference with the Ecuadorean American Chamber of Commerce.
Garcia said Ecuador doesn't accept its inclusion in the list. The government, however, is submitting an action-plan to leave the list during the first week of June.
According to Garcia, Ecuador has made important efforts in the fight against international crimes, including money laundering and terrorist financing.
Garcia, who is also president of the board of the National Council on Money Laundering, added the Ecuador plans to continue its efforts to comply with the 49 recommendations made by FATF.
According to Garcia, the Ecuadorian legislation already allows for an effective fight against financing of terrorism or any other criminal activities.
The government, however, plans to send to the National Assembly specific legislation against terrorist financing.
The president of Ecuador's Private Banks Association, Cesar Robalino, said that Ecuadorean banks already fulfill the FATF norms.
Analysts said that it is unlikely that Ecuador can leave the FATF list in June.
"For the FATF it is necessary to see concrete actions, concrete schedules with deadlines an actions," said local analyst Maria Laura Patino.