Panama is an isthmian strip of land uniting Central and South America, extending approximately 75,000 square kilometres and whose borders are: to the North, the Caribbean Sea; to the South, the Pacific Ocean; to the East, the Republic of Colombia; and to the West, the Republic of Costa Rica.

New measures to prevent financial crime in the offshore banking centres of Latin America and the Caribbean are helping to bring about more effective controls. The author welcomes the present trend towards closer international cooperation and greater vigilance.