On 12 and 13 June, more than 500 professionals from the 31 institutions that make up Chile’s Intersectoral Roundtable for the Prevention and Combat of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism (MILAFT) took part in an online training session to learn how to apply the new Financial and Asset Investigation Guide in their enquiries. Prepared by Chile’s Financial Analysis Unit (UAF) and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, with support from the COPOLAD III programme, this tool plays a key role in guiding the actions of prosecutors and law enforcement officers involved in money laundering and its predicate offences — particularly drug trafficking — using a technical approach aligned with international standards.
The guide provides conceptual and operational criteria for identifying illicit assets, analysing the economic reality of the transactions under investigation, and reconstructing the money trail (follow the money) for evidentiary purposes and asset recovery.
The new Financial and Asset Investigation Guide has been adapted to Chile’s legal framework and case law, while also incorporating good practices and comparative experiences (implemented in other countries, contexts or institutions), particularly in areas that are still emerging within Chile’s judicial context, such as non-conviction-based confiscation mechanisms.
The guide’s update, following months of collaborative work, is part of the technical assistance provided by the COPOLAD III programme to MILAFT in support of Chile’s National Strategy’s Third Action Plan for the Prevention and Combat of Money Laundering, Terrorist and Proliferation Financing, and of the National Policy Against Organised Crime.
Beneficial Ownership Registers
As part of its collaboration with MILAFT, COPOLAD III also supported the development of the Study of Comparative Experiences on Beneficial Ownership (BO) Registers, presented on 18 December 2024 to mark Anti-Money Laundering Day. BO registers collect information about the actual individuals who ultimately own or control a legal entity. They are key to ensuring financial transparency and preventing corruption.
COPOLAD III supports the improvement of drug policies that address the financial power of organised crime. The programme facilitates the exchange of good practices in financial investigation among the 18 member countries of the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT), to foster the application of this body’s standards in the fight against drug trafficking. It also supports country-level actions aimed at improving legislation, systems and technical capacities in this area.
In addition to Chile, Honduras and Peru are also receiving support from COPOLAD III to enhance their regulations, procedures and/or technical capabilities to investigate money laundering and to identify and recover assets linked to international drug trafficking.
