PANAMA SITS  on the 30^th rung of the 146 step ladder of nations most at risk of money laundering according to The Anti-Money Laundering Index (AML 2017), published in Basel, Switzerland.

In Latin America, the isthmus was in fourth position, behind Paraguay (16 global), Haiti (17) and Bolivia (23).

According to the index - which quantifies the risk from highest to lowest - Peru (100), Uruguay (101), Chile (109) and Colombia (125) were the best in the region.

At the global level, the countries with the most robust legislation and regulations were the Same as last year: Estonia (144), Lithuania (145) and Finland (147).

The country most at risk for money laundering is Iran, which has led the index for four consecutive years. In this year's edition,  it was followed by Afghanistan and Guinea-Bissau.

The Basel Institute on Governance measures the vulnerability of a country through 14   risk indicators based on high levels of perceived corruption; low transparency; under compliance with laws and political rights; Financial standards and transparency; and deficiencies in money laundering legislation.