El Salvador - February 2025

The Legislative Assembly passed a new anti-corruption law, establishing a National Anti-corruption Integrated System. Public institutions, including ministries and the Attorney General’s Office (AG), will participate in the new system. The law further creates a National Anticorruption Center, assigned to the AG, to carry out monitoring and intelligence activities. The law, which covers the activities of public officials and governmental institutions, mandates the disclosure of assets and liabilities by civil servants and their immediate families, in addition to income declarations. Congress also increased penalties and prison sentences for corruption-related offenses, such as embezzlement. The law will enter into force in August 2025 (180 days after it received Presidential assent and was published in the Official Journal). Critics question the effectiveness of the new legal and institutional framework, absent comprehensive policies to ensure transparency and access to public information.

Sources: Asamblea Legislativa, DW, Associated Press, Prensa Latina