Introduction. Money laundering is one of the most significant phenomena of contemporary economic crime, owing to its capacity to introduce assets derived from illicit activities into formal circuits. As John Antonio Caro Coria puts it, it is the mechanism by which money of illicit ("dirty") origin acquires a licit ("clean") appearance. The laundering process conceals or disguises the criminal origin of assets, lending them an appearance of legality and making detection more difficult.
Predicate offenses. Professor Natalia Acosta highlights the expansion of the list of predicate offenses from which the proceeds, assets, instruments or products sought to be laundered or legitimized may derive. The existence of an illicit activity generating assets is a necessary precondition for laundering. In Uruguay, predicate offenses are listed in Article 34 of Law No. 19,574: drug trafficking, genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity, terrorism and its financing, smuggling, illicit arms trafficking, organ trafficking, among others. Law No. 20,469 adds new predicate offenses: cybercrime, environmental crime and, as a key amendment introducing Article 33 BIS, assistance to money laundering.
The new offense of assisting money laundering (Art. 33 BIS). The reform introduces a standalone offense punishing anyone who assists the perpetrators of the conduct described in Articles 30 to 32 of Law No. 19,574, extending criminal liability to those who contribute to or facilitate its results. The provision punishes whoever assists the agent or agents in the criminal activities set out in Articles 30 to 32 of the law, whether to secure the benefit or result of that activity, to obstruct the actions of justice, or to evade the legal consequences of their conduct, or who provides any help, assistance or advice for the same purpose, with a sentence of twelve months' imprisonment to six years' penitentiary confinement. The provision exempts advice given to clients to verify the legitimate exercise of a right, and it underscores the importance of due diligence for non-financial obligated parties.
Amendments to Article 13. Article 13 of Law No. 19,574 governs the responsibilities of non-financial obligated parties and was substantially amended. We focus here on subsection D), concerning notaries. Item 1) adds new contract types subject to due-diligence controls. First, payment in kind (dación en pago): this requires tracing the underlying credit that gives rise to the payment in kind, for example, a construction company pays a supplier with a credit that the supplier then uses to acquire a unit in the building, and the control must be applied to that underlying credit. Second, exchange (permuta): the title by which the asset now being exchanged was originally acquired must be verified. Third, any type of real estate transaction carried out, in whole or in part, with virtual assets: broad wording covering any transaction over real property carried out, partly or entirely, with a crypto asset (e.g., bitcoin); once both requirements are met, the notary must carry out due diligence.
Conclusion. The amendments introduced by Law No. 20,469 strengthen the national system for preventing and punishing money laundering and terrorist financing: they broaden the list of predicate offenses, create the offense of assisting money laundering, and extend the scope of due-diligence obligations, aligning the legal framework with new criminal modalities and international standards. For notaries, the amendments to Article 13 expand the situations in which they must identify and know their clients and analyze the origin of funds. The addition of payment in kind, exchange and transactions involving virtual assets raises new interpretive and operational challenges. Compliance with due diligence is both a legal requirement and a tool for mitigating professional risk and protecting the economic and financial system. The notarial function remains essential to prevention.
Sources consulted. Doctrine: Caro Coria, John Antonio, "Problemas en torno al delito de lavado de activos" (2012); Acosta Casco, Natalia, "Lavado de activos: algunos aspectos de interés" (2014). Legislation: Law No. 19,574 (December 20, 2017); Law No. 20,469 (September 11, 2025).
