Georgetown : The fact that Guyana has not been able to pass the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLCFT) Amendment Bill will not only be Guyana’s problem, but the Caribbean region as well, CARICOM Chairman and St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said.
Briefing the media after the 25th CARICOM Inter-sessional meeting in St Vincent, Dr. Gonsalves stressed that, “If the Guyana Parliament doesn’t pass the legislation, there will be a blacklisting of Guyana. The CFATF, the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force and the Financial Action Task Force, (FATF) internationally, they have already made the point!”
The Prime Minister pointed out that once Guyana is blacklisted, as is expected given its failure to pass the legislation, overseas banks can sever ties with local counterparts. This move by the “corresponding banks” as he described them, will result in Guyana’s banks being reduced to “domestic savings” banks. The new status will see the Guyanese banking institutions being unable to engage in making payments for goods and services with third party countries, the CARICOM Chairman explained.
“It’s a serious problem, a very, very serious problem. It affects Guyana and it affects the region. That is why we are asking, CARICOM is saying, “Look guys pass the law”.
This is why bankers and businesspeople are saying that the law must be passed, he added. What is needed, the CARICOM Chairman said is maturity of judgment, “for everyone to just pull back from petty politicking and do something in the interest of the nation”.
A communiqué issued by the regional body, was not one drawn up by the Guyana Government and rubber stamped, but was drafted and approved by CARICOM, Dr Gonsalves insisted.
A similar situation existed in St. Vincent and that country’s government had to move quickly to avoid being blacklisted, it was further explained.
The official excerpt from the communiqué dealing with the AMLCF reads: The Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community regards with profound dismay, Guyana’s inability to enact the requisite legislation aimed at implementing the recommendations of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) to address deficiencies in its anti-money laundering regime.
We recognise that Guyana’s failure to enact this Bill will result in Guyana being blacklisted by CFATF and consequently have far-reaching implications and, indeed, repercussions on the economy of Guyana as well as that of every territory of the Region. It will affect the cost of processing international transactions and will adversely affect trade and financial flows in the Region. The non-passage of the Bill will also retard the regional integration enterprise, limit the opportunity for growth in Guyana and the Region and result in hardship for the people of Guyana, and indeed, of the Region.
We call on all relevant parties to enact the necessary legislation in the national and regional interest.
A second CFATF deadline, of February 28, was missed by Guyana to pass the legislation, after failing to meet the initial time limit of November 2013, after the opposition used their one-seat majority in the National Assembly to vote down the bill, which led to the country being blacklisted at the regional level.
CFAT has no objections to bill in its current form, and its Financial Adviser, Roger Hernandez said the regional watchdog body has concerns in relation to the amendments that the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) proposed. Hernandez explained that some of the amendments put forward deal with previous areas of the Act that were deemed compliant. “The concern that we have is that the amendment put forward may make those areas that were formerly compliant, non-compliant, he said.
If the CFATF’s May plenary is dissatisfied with Guyana’s progress, its 2013 November statement already provides the decision for the country’s referral to FATF. In June 2014, the FATF is slated to meet, when it will make a decision as to whether Guyana should be subjected to a prima facie review by the International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG).
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