UAFE publishes sanctioning regulation with fines based on the offender's economic capacity

The Financial and Economic Analysis Unit (UAFE) issued the new Regulation for the Administrative Sanctioning Procedure, which establishes fine scales for non-compliance regarding money laundering based on the economic capacity of the offender. The regulation is contained in Resolution No. UAFE-DG-2026-0014, signed on September 25, 2026, by the general director Ana Paula Patiño Chacón and published in Supplement No. 387 of the Official Registry on Monday, October 12, 2026, on page 25.

The framework: sanctioning power and international standards

The regulation develops the sanctioning power that Article 17, literal t, of the Organic Law for the Prevention, Detection, and Combat of the Crime of Money Laundering and the Financing of Other Crimes attributes to the UAFE, and is supported by Articles 84 to 86 of its General Regulation. The general director was appointed by Executive Decree No. 406 on June 5, 2026.

Among the precedents invoked in the preamble are:

• Recommendation 35 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which requires effective, proportionate, and dissuasive sanctions.
• The technical study on best practices from the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT) from July 2024, which admits the size and economic volume of the offending entity as a weighting criterion.
• Judgment No. 10-18-IN/21 of September 29, 2021, from the Plenary of the Constitutional Court, regarding sanctioning proportionality.

The scope of application covers natural and legal persons subject to the sanctioning power of the UAFE, namely, the entities obliged to report operations and their compliance officers.

Five groups based on declared gross income

Article 46 defines economic capacity based on the gross income declared in the fiscal year in which the infraction was committed, measured in basic tax-free fractions with a zero rate of Income Tax:

• Group A: from 0 to 1 basic tax-free fraction.
• Group B: from 2 to 5 fractions.
• Group C: from 6 to 10 fractions.
• Group D: from 11 to 15 fractions.
• Group E: more than 15 fractions.

Those who are not obliged to declare the tax, or have not filed it, are placed in Group A. If the offender files substitute returns, the last one submitted until the issuance of the resolution shall prevail.

Fine scales by severity of the offense

Fines are expressed in unified basic salaries in effect on the date the infraction was committed. For minor infractions, the base ranges from 2 salaries (Group A) to 9 (Group E), passing through 4, 6, and 8. For serious infractions, the scale rises from 13 to 19 salaries (13, 14, 16, 18, and 19). For very serious infractions, the base ranges from 24 salaries for Group A up to 39 for Group E, with intermediate values of 27, 31, and 35.

Article 52 introduces a discount for rectification of conduct: 1 basic salary is deducted for minor offenses, 2 for serious offenses, and 3 for very serious offenses. Those who do not rectify their conduct pay the full base amount. In the event of recidivism, the sanction equals the maximum amount provided by Law and does not allow for a discount; recidivism requires a final resolution for the same infringement and a new breach within the following year.

Deadlines, evidence, and execution

The procedure separates the investigating function from the resolving function and is conducted via an electronic file. The main terms are:

• Ten days for statements in preliminary proceedings, extendable up to five days only once.
• Ten days to respond to the initiation order.
• Five days for evidence, extendable by two additional days.
• Thirty days for the authority to issue the resolution.
• Ten days for voluntary payment; if not settled, the file is transferred to coercive jurisdiction.
• Thirty days to resolve administrative appeals, the filing of which does not suspend execution.

The resolution repeals Resolution No. UAFE-DG-2023-0832 of November 22, 2023, published in Official Registry No. 483 on January 23, 2024, and Resolution No. UAFE-DG-2019-0260 of December 18, 2019, published in Official Registry No. 142 on February 13, 2020. Procedures already initiated will continue to be processed under those previous regulations. The regulation is effective from its signing, and internal deadlines of 15, 30, and 60 days were set for delegations, manuals, and technological development.

The impact falls on banks, savings and credit cooperatives, and other entities obliged to report to the UAFE: for the first time, they have an explicit table that translates their economic size into a fine amount, which reduces the resolver’s discretion but increases the exposure of large entities, which now face bases of up to 39 basic salaries for very serious offenses.

Source: Official Registry, Supplement No. 387, Monday, October 12, 2026, p. 25 (official reference: Resolution No. UAFE-DG-2026-0014).