Law of 11 February 2025 No.209 “On Combating Corruption” (Ley Anticorrupción) drafted with a view to implementing the obligations before the IMF and entering into force on 11 August 2025 introduces, in particular, the following novelties:

1. Institutional environment

1.1. Integrated National Anti-Corruption System

Under the Law, El Salvador creates an Integrated National Anti-Corruption System (Sistema Integrado Nacional Anticorrupción, hereinafter, SINAC) that will consist of:

• The Prosecutor-General’s Office of the Republic (La Fiscalía General de la República) that will be the leading SINAC body regulating its activities;
• The Ministry of Justice and Public Security (El Ministerio de Justicia y Seguridad Pública);
• The National Civil Police (La Policía Nacional Civil);
• The Accounts Chamber of the Republic (La Corte de Cuentas de la República);
• Judicial bodies (El Órgano Judicial);
• The Ministry of Finance (El Ministerio de Hacienda);
• The Financial System Department (La Superintendencia del Sistema Financiero);
• The National Commission for Digital Assets (La Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales);
• The National Registration Centre (El Centro Nacional de Registros);
• The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (El Ministerio de Obras Públicas y de Transporte);
• The National Centre for the Register of Natural Persons (El Registro Nacional de las Personas Naturales);
• The National Directorate for Public Procurement (La Dirección Nacional de Compras Públicas).

SINAC will fulfill the following functions:

• Develop the guiding principles for the National Anti-Corruption Policy and the Anti-Corruption Plan, and the measures incorporated therein;
• Develop and implement the national model for preventing corruption offences providing for the policies and procedures concerning timely action on detected or alleged corruption-related activities;
• Coordinate the elaboration of corruption policies, strategies, plans, projects and measures by the SINAC member bodies and subsequently implement them;
• Adopt guiding principles and policies necessary for smooth interaction of all SINAC member bodies and develop the indicators for assessing SINAC effectiveness;
• Prevent the use of the financial system and/or national registries from being used for legalizing (laundering) proceeds of illicit activities;
• Raise public awareness about the possibilities to participate in the fight against corruption, in particular, the channels for reporting corruption offences;
• Request natural and legal persons, public bodies outside SINAC and local government bodies to provide the information necessary for SINAC to fulfill its functions etc.

All SINAC member bodies are obliged to:

• Establish anti-corruption divisions with the aim to constantly monitor all actions of both officials and citizens that can indicate undertaking of corrupt practices;
• Create and implement the information systems ensuring communication among SINAC participants, including the provision of information disposed of by the SINAC members;
• Establish the channels for reporting corruption offences, undertake subsequent steps for raising public awareness about the ways for disclosing information and the measures available for protecting whistleblowers.

1.2. National Anti-Corruption Centre

The Law also provides for the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Centre (Centro Nacional Anticorrupción, hereinafter, the CNA) within the Prosecutor-General’s Office of the Republic.

The CNA will be responsible for undertaking intelligence measures related to the prevention, investigation of and prosecution for corruption crimes, including consistent, permanent and timely monitoring of the information disposed of the SINAC member bodies.

The documents regulating the CAN activities should be drafted and adopted by the Prosecutor-General of the Republic.

1.3. Accounts Chamber of the Republic

Under the Law, the Accounts Chamber of the Republic, in undertaking auditing, is entitled to have an unlimited access to the information contained in the asset declarations of officials. If it detects indicators of corruption offences, conflicts of interest or illicit enrichment, it should immediately inform the Supreme Court and, if necessary, the Prosecutor-General’s Office of the Republic about its findings so that the corrective action is taken in line with the law.

2. Obligations of the officials of public and local government bodies

In accordance with the Law, the heads of the public and local government bodies are obliged to:

• Ensure compliance with the integrity and ethical norms in their respective body to enhance transparency of its activities;
• Develop and adopt an internal anti-corruption programme to comprehensively assess corruption risks;
• Integrate good practices and monitor compliance with the anti-corruption programme also in the recruitment and promotion of personnel;
• Implement specific procedures to mitigate and/or eliminate corruption risks and undertake regular monitoring of compliance therewith;
• Control compliance with the anti-corruption norms of the counteragents, i.e. contractors, suppliers, strategic partners and the like;
• Conduct anti-corruption training;
• Establish and maintain the channels for reporting corruption offences;
• Undertake permanent monitoring and improvement of the anti-corruption programme based on clear indicators, specific measures and international standards.

All officials of public bodies are now obliged to submit, beyond their annual income declarations, the declarations of their assets and those of their spouses, individuals having an actual marital relationship with the declarants and those of their children to the Ministry of Finance. The content of the declarations will be determined by the Ministry of Finance.

These declarations will be made public: the Ministry of Finance will have to publish declarations (excluding the confidential data) on a dedicated electronic portal within 15 days from their submission.

In the event that declarants fail to file declarations or submit knowingly false information, they will be subject to the liability measures in the form of dismissal or removal from office.

3. Disclosure of information about offences

Under the Law, any individual must inform the SINAC coordinating body or any authority member of SINAC directly about alleged corruption offences, including illicit enrichment if there is evidence or reasonable suspicion.

Whistleblowers should be granted protection from retaliation due to the disclosures made. At the same time, the legal act does not clarify what protection measures are available to whistleblowers and how they will be implemented.

4. Statute of limitations

The Law repeals the statute of limitations with regard to the current and future proceedings concerning such crimes as:

• Embezzlement;
• Extortion;
• Abuse in procurement;
• Passive bribery;
• Active bribery;
• Misappropriation;
• Illicit enrichment;
• Bribery, including in its transnational form;
• Trading in influence.

5. International cooperation

Under the Law, the country will undertake measures for strengthening international cooperation in such areas as training, technical equipment, investigations, mutual legal assistance and asset recovery.

To this end, in particular, open and constant communication with international organisations and public bodies of other countries should be established to overcome any obstacles in the relevant processes.