【Mexico】Anti-Money Laundering Law Could Affect Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Coparmex

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Editor’s Note

This article highlights concerns from Mexico’s business sector that proposed anti-money laundering regulations, while well-intentioned, may place a disproportionate compliance burden on small and medium-sized enterprises. The debate underscores the ongoing challenge of balancing effective financial oversight with fostering a supportive environment for business operations.

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Concerns Over Overregulation

The Mexican Employers’ Confederation (Coparmex) warned that the overregulation of the anti-money laundering law approved by the Senate could affect the daily operations of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

“The draft of the Federal Law for the Prevention and Identification of Operations with Illicit Proceeds (LFPIORPI) received by the Chamber of Deputies, which will be analyzed in committees, could affect the daily operation of companies, especially MSMEs,” stated the organization led by Juan José Sierra Álvarez.

According to the employers’ organization, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises constitute 99 percent of Mexico’s productive fabric.

“Our concern focuses on the overregulation implied by this reform, as it significantly expands the obligations for those who carry out vulnerable activities,” stated the employers’ union.

Coparmex pointed out that the amendments to combat money laundering require companies to identify and know all their clients through official documentation and, in the case of legal entities, to collect detailed information about the beneficiaries.
Additionally, the anti-money laundering law mandates monitoring and reporting of operations, which expands the universe of transactions subject to scrutiny by the Tax Administration Service (SAT).

“Coupled with this, the restriction on cash persists, a situation that does not reflect the reality of the country, regarding the lack of banking access for many clients,” it noted.
Significant Economic Burden

The business organization indicated that the implementation of this initiative would imply a significant investment in technological infrastructure, constant staff training, and hiring of external services to ensure execution.

“For many businesses, especially smaller ones, this represents an economic burden that is difficult to absorb,” stated Coparmex.

It emphasized that the development or acquisition of systems capable of identifying transactions that do not conform to the transactional profile and generating reports in the formats required by the authority requires resources that are not within everyone’s reach.
Additionally, fines could exceed 7.3 million pesos, or even amounts equivalent to 100 percent of the operation.
The elimination of the requirement to prove intent in some cases opens the door to automatic criminal liability.

Call for Proportional Regulation
“We reiterate that the financial integrity and global reputation of Mexican companies are fundamental,” said Coparmex.

It asserted that for any regulation to be effective, it requires technical support, graduality, and sensitivity to the business environment.
Many economic units registered as vulnerable activities still do not fully comply with the LFPIORPI.

“The proposal, far from improving compliance, could foster informality or cause business closures,” expressed Coparmex.
“We call on the legislators of the Chamber of Deputies to take into account dialogue, evidence, and responsibility within the process of analysis and discussion.”

The employers’ union proposed a proportional, staggered model with incentives to facilitate compliance, especially for MSMEs.

“We share the objective of preventing money laundering, but not at the expense of business viability.
Mexico demands solid institutions, effective norms, and intelligent regulation that does not halt productive development nor punish those who generate employment,” concluded Coparmex.
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⏰ Published on: July 11, 2025