As the May 29th deadline for the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Amendment Bill draws near, the Organisation of American States (OAS) has issued another call for the Parliament of Guyana to approve the legislation.
The Bill is currently before the Parliamentary Special Select Committee, which is led by Government’s Chief Whip Gail Teixeira but dominated by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC).
Over the weekend, OAS General Secretary Jose Miguel Insulza underscored the importance of enacting the Bill, noting that its passage will bring Guyana on par with the standards laid out by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).
In a press statement, the OAS General Secretary pointed out that Guyana’s Caricom partners have already adopted the required legislation in compliance with CFATF’s standards. Any delay in the passage of the legislation would result in “unnecessary damage” to the country’s gradually growing economy. As a result, he is renewing calls for the three leading political parties in the country to demonstrate responsible leadership by endorsing the Bill at the level of the National Assembly.
Insulza offered the cooperation and support of the OAS through the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), noting that Guyana’s draft law is fully consistent with the most recent recommendations of CICAD’s expert group on money laundering, which were in turn endorsed by CICAD commissioners at their 55th Regular Session in Washington, DC this week.
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