CABINET last Tuesday approved the composition of the delegation that would be journeying to Florida, United States, for a meeting with members of the Americans Regions Review Group (ARRG) who are conducting the targeted review of Guyana’s compliance with the Anti- Money Laundering obligations under CFATF and FATF. 

The team will be meeting with ARRG in the last week of this month, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon informed yesterday at his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the President in Georgetown.

Those making up the delegation to Florida include Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) Head, Paul Ghir, Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) Head Assistant Commissioner, Sydney James and FIU Legal Advisor, Alisha Williams.

Having failed consistently to obtain parliamentary opposition support for the enactment of updated compliant CFATF/FATF legislation, Guyana was referred to the June 2014 plenary of FATF that was held in Paris where Presidential Advisor, Gail Teixeira represented Guyana, the outcome of which was the targeted review by the ARRG.

According to Luncheon, Teixeira took the opportunity presented during the consideration of the composition of the team to update Cabinet on her continued failure to have the parliamentary opposition members of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) on the amended Anti-Money Laundering Bill to meet. In fact, her latest effort for an October 10 meeting of the PSSC has failed.

Luncheon further disclosed that the team would be meeting the ARRG in the context of a report that had to be prepared and submitted by Guyana to a formal request by the ARRG for information.

The focus of the meeting would be reviewing Guyana’s responses to the ARRG submission and Luncheon said that activity will be definitive because the ARRG would, armed with the results of that targeted review, submit their findings to the October plenary of FATF, again where Guyana would be invited. “And maybe a judgment of some definitiveness, something of conclusion, may yet be provided,” Luncheon said.

(By Telesha Ramnarine)