The Economist – Ecuador and financial crime – The Andean laundry – Worries that organised crime is tightening its grip

IT WAS long an island of tranquillity surrounded by countries racked by guerrillas and drug trafficking. But whereas violence has declined in Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has acquired a reputation as a new capital of financial crime. Last month the Financial Action Task Force, an inter-governmental body, declared that Ecuador has not shown “a clear high-level political commitment” to address its “strategic deficiencies” in fighting money laundering and the financing of terrorism. That put it on a list with the likes of North Korea, Iran and Turkmenistan.
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