Georgetown: In keeping with the seven-point action plan established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to address the strategic anti-money laundering deficiencies within Guyana’s legal framework, the Government has accelerated the implementation of non-legislative measures.
Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall said continuous training was being facilitated as part of the menu of measures.
“Continuous training of the relevant agencies that have a role to play in discharging obligations under the AML/CFT [Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism] regime; this includes the supervisory authorities; the reporting entities; the Police Force; CANU [Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit]; the FIU [Financial Intelligence Unit]; the SOCU [Special Organised Crime Unit]; the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions]; the Judiciary, and the Magistracy,” he explained.
Additionally, preparations are well underway for the implementation of a National AML/CFT five-year plan. Preparations are also being made for the provision of periodic reports showing typologies and trends.
These mechanisms will be used to analyse the reports and guide the investigation process. It is anticipated that the non-legislative measures, hopefully, will be successfully implemented early next year.
“As regards the Bill to be enacted, obviously Parliament will have to resume sitting before it can be enacted. Whenever Parliament resumes, Government will accord the enactment of this legislation its highest of priority,” Minister Nandlall said in response to a question posed on the status of the Bill in light of the prorogation of Parliament.
According to him, if the Bill is not passed by October 2015, then blacklisting of Guyana and the catastrophic consequences which flow from there is a virtual certainty.
“My appeal has always been that this is a matter of national importance that is simply too vital to be the subject of political gamesmanship. If this Bill is not enacted within the stipulated time, history and the people of Guyana will judge harshly those who are responsible for its non-enactment.”
In October, FATF indicated that Guyana made a high-level political commitment to address the loopholes within its anti-money laundering regime by working with both the international financial watchdog and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). As part of the seven-point action plan, Guyana is required to adequately criminalise money laundering and terrorist financing. Additionally, the country is mandated to establish and implement adequate procedures for the confiscation of assets related to money laundering, establish and implement an adequate legal framework for identifying, tracing and freezing terrorist assets and establish a fully-operational and effectively functioning FIU.
Effective measures for customer due diligence and enhanced financial transparency would also need to be established, in addition to strengthened suspicious transaction reporting requirements. Finally, Guyana is required to implement an adequate supervisory framework.
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