The interior minister has said the government wants Colombia to lead the world in tackling money laundering after it was revealed that $8 billion – 3% of Colombia’s GDP – is laundered in Colombia every year.
Speaking before European Union security experts on Wednesday, German Vargas Lleras called for international cooperation to address the issue, Colombian media reported.
Vargas Lleras said, “money laundering feeds terrorism, seriously affects financial markets, attacks the correct functioning of the economy, distorts economic indicators, makes designing public policies difficult and contributes to corruption.”
The minister added that Colombia had raised penalties for money laundering and was working with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to confront money laundering and financing terrorism.
The $8 billion figure was first reported by Prosecutor General Viviane Morales last July, based on calculations by the Unity of Colombian Financial Information and Analysis.
