PANAMA Law and Practice Contributed by: Kharla Aizpurua O., Roberto Vidal and Miguel Arias, Morgan & Morgan
The SBP Unlike the SMV, the opinions of the SBP are not publicly confirmed. However, on 24 April 2018, the SBP issued a public notice warning the gen - eral public about the use of “bitcoin or any oth- er instrument of the same category,” indicating that these do not have specific regulations and are not within the competence of the SBP. The notice also established that “as usual, regulated entities must maintain due diligence measures to prevent the improper use of their services and platforms, in accordance with the provisions of the Banking Law, Law 23 of 2015, Agreement 10 of 2015, and other applicable regulations.” Although cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and virtual currencies are not regulated in Panama, there are platforms where these assets are trad - ed or stored. Operators of these platforms are advised to implement compliance measures, such as due diligence and KYC procedures based on local regulations, to prevent the mis - use of their services before allowing any person to use their platforms. 10.12Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) NFTs and NFT platforms are not regulated in Panama, and we have no knowledge of any opinions issued by any regulator with respect to NFTs.
as well as its handling, storage, and treatment. The Data Protection Regulation applies to the processing of data that originates or is stored in Panama and data processing carried out within the framework of a commercial activity on the internet, or any other means of electronic or digital communication in accordance with the Electronic Commerce Law, to guarantee data protection in activities aimed at the Panamanian market. The Data Protection Regulation includes obligations for banks and technology providers related to data privacy and data security. Fur - thermore, the SBP issued Regulation 1-2022, which establishes special regulations in relation to personal data handled by banks. Therefore, the general rule is to obtain the cus - tomer/client’s consent and have the appropriate privacy policies and security protocols in place. Both the Banking Law and the Securities Law contain dispositions that prohibit and sanction fraudulent activity. The legislation does not pro - vide a specific list of the elements of fraud; how - ever, in a general sense, fraud requires a per - son to have the intent to deceive for personal gain or to cause harm to others by making false statements, material omissions or misrepre - sentations. Panama’s Criminal Code also con - tains dispositions relating to fraud and financial crimes. 12.2 Areas of Regulatory Focus Regulators supervise their regulated entities to prevent and detect fraudulent or illicit activity. They focus on investment fraud, accounting fraud, payment fraud, and others. 12. Fraud 12.1 Elements of Fraud
11. Open Banking 11.1 Regulation of Open Banking
There is no local specific regulation on open banking. The banking business continues to be regulated and supervised by the SBP. 11.2 Concerns Raised by Open Banking The Data Protection Regulation regulates the protection of natural persons’ personal data,
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