TWO Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) training and sensitisation workshops for attorneys-at-law and accountants/auditors will be hosted locally this week.

This was announced by the Ministry of Legal Affairs on Tuesday, which indicated that the sessions will be held for attorneys-at-law on Friday May 17, 2019 and for accountants/auditors on Saturday May 18, 2019.

The events are being organised by the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, who is the Prime Contact for Guyana’s AML/CFT regime and the Chairperson of the AML/CFT and Proliferation Financing National Co-ordination Committee.

The workshops will be held at the Cara Lodge Hotel from 13:00hrs to 16:00hrs for attorneys and for accountants/auditors from 09:00hrs to 12:00hrs.

“These engagements are critical as Guyana prepares for its CFATF Fourth Round Mutual Evaluation, scheduled for the first quarter of 2022, and more so, given that the Money Laundering (ML) vulnerability levels for attorneys-at-law and accountants/auditors are generally considered to be high, based on AML/CFT trends globally,” the release stated.

The completion of Guyana’s first Money laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) National Risk Assessment in 2016 concluded that the ML vulnerabilities and risk with these sectors in Guyana are consistent with international norms.

The workshops will highlight the obligations of attorneys-at-law and accountants/auditors classified as Designated Non-Financial Businesses or Professions (DNFBPs) under local AML/CFT legislation.

According to the ministry, these category of DNFBPs are required to report suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit only when, on behalf of or for a client, they engage in certain financial transactions as outlined under Section 18(11) of the AML/CFT Act 2009 (as amended).

“In keeping with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Standards, these DNFBPs should be effectively supervised, to ensure their effective compliance with their obligations to assist in protecting the international financial sector and playing their part in combating ML and TF in Guyana and worldwide,” the ministry stated.