Q COSTARICA — The Economic Affairs legislative committee issued a majority ruling on File 24,658, which eliminates the need for a court order to lift bank secrecy.
The proposal, presented at the end of 2024 by Frente Amplio (FA) legislator Sofía Guillén, eliminates the need for a judge to approve such a decision in investigations related to drug trafficking or organized crime, as well as in cases of homicide and contract killings, “sicariato” in Spanish.
“Criminal organizations employ various financial mechanisms to hide, mobilize, and legitimize illicit assets, which is why they benefit from the opacity and obstacles that competent authorities face in tracing the financial flows resulting from their criminal activities,” legislator Guillén stated.
Thus, in any investigation conducted by judicial authorities, “financial institutions must comply, within a period of no more than ten business days, with all individualized information requests made by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will be limited to that which is strictly convenient and necessary for investigative purposes.”
“These requests will be made by the Attorney General’s Office through a reasoned resolution, as they constitute relevant information for the purposes of the investigation and judicial proceedings in cases of national and transnational organized crime.
The obligations to freeze funds, safeguard securities, and safeguard documents remain in place. These measures will be applied as soon as financial institutions receive formal notification of an investigation or file a complaint, and will remain in effect until the process concludes with a dismissal, filing, or final acquittal.
The bill also stipulates that when the Financial Analysis Unit of the Costa Rican Drug Institute (ICD) notifies a bank of an ongoing investigation, it must inform the Public Prosecutor’s Office. From that moment, the Prosecutor’s Office will have five calendar days to consider requesting the release of information on related clients.
The proposal also introduces sanctions for those who abuse these powers. Any official of the Public Prosecutor’s Office who makes requests intended to violate personal or credit data may be punished with imprisonment of one to six years, without prejudice to other civil, administrative, or disciplinary liabilities.
“Failure to comply with these conditions will give the affected person the right to appeal the measure before the appropriate court, but under no circumstances will access to the information be suspended,” the reform states.
The text was approved with the in favor vote of six of the seven deputies present, with only PLN legislator Gilberto Campos casting a dissenting vote.
The bill, which will now begin its final discussion, reforms Article 18 of Ley Contra la Delincuencia Organizada (Law Against Organized Crime) to expedite judicial proceedings.
“This is a good sign and a good effort by this committee. We hope it survives the Plenary and becomes law of the Republic,” said legislator Guillén.
Source link
Rico
