Carlos Arregui, minister of the Secretariat for the Prevention of Money Laundering (Seprelad), gave a press conference, where he answered some questions related to the report detailing irregularities of the Cartes Group.
Said report was leaked from public institutions (presumably from Seprelad) and shared in the media.
The most important questions he answered were the following:
Is the report that was leaked to the press real or false?
I cannot speak about the report due to legal precautions regarding the information contained in the report. What I can say is that it is a report that we sent to the Prosecutor’s Office.
What can Gafilat think about this?
The reaction that the State can make to the events that occur is highly valued from Gafilat. Leakage is not desirable either, but it occurs in all countries, it is analyzed, the causes are seen and an attempt is made to detect those responsible. We are doing an investigation in this regard.
Where was the report leaked? In the SET, Seprelad or in the Prosecutor’s Office?
I couldn’t tell you where it leaked. We have the traceability of the report since it leaves the institution, from there on other institutions are responsible. You have to investigate where it leaked.
What do you think of the report that was leaked to the press?
I don’t know about the 43-page report. The Seprelad report is 161 pages long.
Did you detect inconsistencies in the report?
I cannot make references to the report. I can not refer to the content. I am forbidden to talk about the content.
Are there political actors who consider this report a ‘political stick’, what do you think about it?
Free expression.
The SET says they did 80% of the report, is that true?
We would have to ask Orué what 80% is. We are doing coordinated work with the other institutions.
Can this affect the Gafilat rating?
This does not fall within the Gafilat report. On September 3 of last year, the evaluation period ended.
How was this report made?
Seprelad’s report consists of a description. A report that is based on sources that are all validated in some way. Seprelad accesses the SET page and works with them.