Published: Oct. 21, 2010 at 7:48 AM

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2010/10/21/S-American-states-among-money-launderers/UPI-58131287661733/

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras and Nicaragua are among nations that pose rising risks in the global fight against money laundering and related security threats, a new survey indicated.

The latest version of Anti-Money Laundering Atlas produced by Promontory Compliance Solutions rated countries of the world according to perceived risk of money laundering and terrorist financing.

The latest AML Atlas released by the company incorporates Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index but also includes feedback and data from a network that shared its on-the-ground experience with high-risk countries.

Transparency International Corruption Perception Index ranks 150 countries in terms of perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys.

Included in the assessment is the recently released Presidential Determination on Major Illicit Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2011, changes to World Bank Governance Indicators, new information from the Financial Action Task Force and updates to several other anti-money laundering related indicators.

Promontory said its anti-money laundering atlas continues to rate Iran, Myanmar and Cuba as among the riskiest countries, considering the U.S. and multinational sanctions against them. It identified several other countries, including the Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Eritrea, Honduras and Nicaragua as presenting rising risks.

"Fighting money laundering, terrorist financing and financial fraud remains a high priority for governments around the world, and AML Atlas is a proven tool for helping financial companies comply with complex rules," said Eugene A. Ludwig, chief executive officer of Promontory Compliance Solutions.

In September the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that could result in a dramatic expansion in reporting requirements for cross-border transactions.

The atlas was launched in 2005 as a geographic risk assessment tool rating countries according to their perceived risk of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Promontory Compliance Solutions is an affiliate of Promontory Financial Group, a global financial services consulting firm.

Increased risks of linkage between money laundering and terrorism have widened a term originally applied to financial transactions related to organized crime.

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency includes in money laundering any financial transaction that generates an asset or a value as the result of an illegal act, including tax evasion and false accounting.

Money laundering activities in Latin America have been linked to an extensive narcotic trade involving Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela. Recent police reports also cited money laundering connections between Central and South America and the Middle East and Africa.