Report says churches are “vehicles for money laundering” in Paraguay

Paraguay’s Secretariat for the Prevention of Money or Asset Laundering (Seprelad) has denounced Friday that churches are “vehicles for money laundering” after conducting a sectorial risk study of the structures of non-profit organizations.

The deputy secretary of Seprelad, Carmen Pereira, has advanced that her cabinet is finalizing a new regulation that will affect this type of organizations and will establish “a minimum standard of rules” to ensure that they stay away from money laundering or terrorist financing.

In addition, he has pointed out that there are many countries that review the income of religious institutions, especially those that come from donations and other types of obligations imposed as membership fees, which are given by will, according to ‘ABC Color’.

Pereira has stressed the importance of auditing their expenses, since he considers it relevant to carry out a verification of “both mouths” because where this money ends up “determines much of what they can and cannot do.”