EL BLANQUEO DE CAPITALES DESDE LA PERSPECTIVA DEL DERECHO COMPARADO: ECUADOR Y ESPAÑA.

Abstract

This paper studies and compares how two countries with common legal roots but very different realities regulate money laundering: Spain and Ecuador. While Spain has a highly developed regulatory system, driven largely by its membership of the European Union, Ecuador has been building its own more gradually, facing difficulties specific to its socioeconomic context. The main objective is to determine what both systems have in common and where they differ, using the international standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as a reference point. A legal-comparative methodology has been followed, supported by current legislation, specialized doctrine and institutional sources. The main conclusions suggest that, although both countries share a common international normative basis, the Spanish legal system shows a clearly superior level of technical and institutional development, while Ecuador faces serious challenges related to drug trafficking, the informal economy and the lack of resources of its financial intelligence unit.