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Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships in the Fight Against Financial Crimes: Collaborative Efforts Across Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina

Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships in the Fight Against Financial Crimes: Collaborative Efforts Across Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina
From left to right: Carlos Xavier, Ministry of Justice Rede-Lab; Kelly Masaro, ABRACAM; Marcio Estrella, ABRACAM; Gerson Romantini, Brasilian Central Bank; and Alceu Del Preti Filho, Bradesco Bank

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The Brazilian Association of Exchange (Portuguese, Associação Brasileira de Câmbio – ABRACAM), the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), and K2 Integrity convened dozens of representatives from public and private institutions in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina on Thursday, September 12 in Brasília to address the importance of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in combating financial crimes. The event was facilitated through ABA ROLI’s Countering the Financing of Terrorism in South America program, funded by the US Department of State Bureau of Counterterrorism.

Opening the event, Kelly Massaro, ABRACAM’s executive president, shared that when PPPs are established, financial intelligence is developed more efficiently and used more effectively via this established cooperation. Additionally, she mentioned that established PPPs lead to relevant information being shared under appropriate channels, producing higher quality reports. This leads to significant improvements in the investigative work already being conducted by institutions in different countries. "It's important to see that, in the end, financial institutions aligned with public-private partnerships also contribute to combating money laundering, which in turn improves society and the country," she emphasized.

As part of the second panel, K2 Integrity’s General Director, Mariano Federici, stressed the strategic importance of public-private partnerships, noting that the information exchange benefits both partners and public investigation agencies, as the flow of information is bidirectional. “It’s a paradigm shift in information exchange, which may even lead to the need for new regulations but also helps build trust, which takes time but is crucial because working as a team allows overcoming distrust.”

Money laundering prevention and the fight against terrorism financing are essential for Brazil’s economic development and a healthy, ethical financial system. The FATF measures the effectiveness of this system, with its recommendations serving as the international standard. According to their report, the Tri-border region of South America is considered high-risk for criminal activities like drug trafficking and organized crime and is under constant surveillance.

César Pastore presentation during the meeting.

César Pastore presentation during the meeting.

César Pastore, ABA ROLI’s Program Director, spoke about awareness initiatives being developed in the Triple Frontier region, as well as in other parts of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, with technical training sessions and an awareness campaign, “See the Signs.” These initiatives are facilitated through ABA ROLI’s Combating Money Laundering and Transnational Crimes programs in Latin America. “It’s an honor to exchange information and experiences with institutions and share the best international practices currently being applied in combating money laundering,” he said.

In the third panel, Dr. Aline Cuzzuol, Head of the Financial Crimes Division of the Federal Police, shared experiences from partnerships that have brought more agility to processes and promoted a more strategic approach to criminal investigations regarding crime reports received by the institution. “This relationship between the public and private sectors accelerates investigations, information exchanges, the sharing of new technologies and typologies, and benefits both sectors. Since crime evolves, investigations must evolve as well. The better access we have to information, the better founded our investigations will be, bringing more security to criminal prosecution.”

Carlos Renato Xavier de Resende, coordinator of Rede-Lab from the Department of Asset Recovery and International Legal Cooperation of the Ministry of Justice, highlighted the strategic importance of such events, which allow information exchange among a targeted audience of key institutions in the fight against money laundering. “We are speaking to those we need to reach, providing information to those who need it, and this is part of the strategic work in combating money laundering,” he emphasized.

Valdemir Fortes, Deputy Head of DECON, the Conduct Supervision Department of the Central Bank of Brazil, spoke about the importance of the ABRACAM Compliance Seal—a tool created to standardize best practices and procedures for market participants. The Compliance Seal ensures greater transparency, robustness, and economy for institutions and their clients, which complements but does not replace other practices and indicators, supporting the institution's efforts.

Rafael Bezerra Ximenes de Vasconcelos, Director of Supervision at the Financial Activities Control Council (Portuguese, Conselho de Controle de Atividades Financeiras – COAF), discussed the importance of public-private cooperation, which acts as an information hub from various private sectors to supply crucial data. He also emphasized the need to consider details in regulatory matters, as “simple measures won’t suffice in complex situations.”

Ignacio Yacobucci, President of Argentina’s Financial Intelligence Unit (Spanish, Unidad de Información Financiera – UIF), stressed the importance of interagency collaboration—between public and private institutions alike—which functions when all parties are invested. “This intelligence is essential for UIF and complements financial intelligence. The State cannot be everywhere, nor can it know all business models, so it must work with the private sector to understand these models and their risks, providing a guide for both sectors,” he noted.

Gregório Mayor, Executive President of the Association of Exchange Houses in Paraguay, added, “This select gathering allows for uniting different entities, facilitating face-to-face meetings, information exchanges, and building trust.”

The cornerstone of the public-private partnership is to improve analytical and strategic capabilities, as well as effectiveness, feeding back into FIUs, criminal investigators, and obligated entities. "If we cannot defeat money laundering, criminals will see it as a profitable crime. The real power in a criminal organization lies in its economic strength—by reducing their economic power, we also reduce their other powers and their reach," concluded Mariano Federici, specialist of the Countering the Financing of Terrorism in South America Program.

The event ended with a participation conversation, where all the participants exchanged their views on the PPPs, the benefits, and next steps for their institutions to promote the public-private information sharing mechanism.