Peruvian banking and insurance regulator SBS has urged Congress to pass a bill before June 1 to give the watchdog supervisory authority over the country's more than 600 savings and loan cooperatives, which have been flagged as a possible weak link in anti-money laundering controls, El Comercio reported.
SBS chief Socorro Heysen said the bill's passage before June 1 would help Peru avoid placement on an international list of countries that are deemed to have serious deficiencies in anti-money laundering controls. Failure to pass the bill could also worsen Peru's investment risk rating, she added.
A mission from the Latin American Financial Action Task Force is currently in Peru to evaluate the country's progress in improving anti-money laundering protocols. That mission is due to conclude on June 1.
According to data from industry association Fenacrep, there are currently 671 savings and loan cooperatives in Peru, 520 of which are not supervised by any government agency, El Comercio reported.
This lack of oversight has created a loophole in the system, according to Heysen, who said such cooperatives are often set up only for money laundering purposes. They "appear and disappear and have already scammed and are moving from place to place to cheat again without any control," the SBS head said.
Peru's Financial Intelligence Unit had issued at least 40 reports on suspicious savings and credit cooperatives, she noted, adding that only 21 of them are currently being investigated for money laundering.
