On Tuesday, March 8, the ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice was published in the Official Gazette, where the role of lawyers and authorized public accountants in matters of corruption and money laundering is discussed.
The lawyer and former president of the Fundación Libertad Ciudadana, Carlos Barsallo, explained that this ruling is recently known, however, its date is December 22, 2021.
He stated that there are very honest colleagues, and there are colleagues who are very complicit in activities, “the problem is that it is difficult to prove it because the laws have problems since they are made and then comes the second part, which is their interpretation.”
He mentioned that the Supreme Court of Justice adds the issue of the famous professional secrecy. “Everyone has seen in the movies that when you talk to the lawyer, everything remains secret, it’s like a secret confession; however, this has complexities, the discussion was that in money laundering there is an obligation of the obligated subjects to report suspicious operations. So, how does the lawyer look? If he reports suspicious operations, is he not violating professional secrecy? There was a rule and it still exists, which was a bit complex because it lent itself to interpretations and the Court has just clarified it ” , he specified.
The Supreme Court clarified that when you as a lawyer wear the hat of defending your client in a criminal case, secrecy prevails; When you are a lawyer dedicated to commercial management issues, secrecy does not prevail and you must reveal the suspicious operation.
