ATTORNEY GENERAL (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall in an invited comment told the Guyana Chronicle that the reprieve by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is one that Guyana is grateful for, considering the dire consequences of being internationally blacklisted.And he stressed the fact that the new February 28 deadline is not one Guyana can be complacent with.

Nandlall said: “We are indeed fortunate that FATF did not identify Guyana for the dreaded ICRG (the International Cooperation Review Group’s) Review. I indicated very early, that they could have done so on their own volition without a recommendation from CFATF. The government’s concern was always to preclude Guyana from being exposed to this perilous risk. That Guyana was granted this reprieve, we are grateful. However, we cannot afford to become complacent. Our obligations to enact the Bill has not dissipated but has shifted by about two weeks only.”
Guyana is now expected to submit a report by February 28 along with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill to the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) for consideration at its May 2014 plenary meeting.
“Nothing else has changed,” he stressed.

NO SCAREMONGERING
The AG, in whose name the AML/CFT Bill was tabled in the National Assembly, rejected comments by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) front-bencher, Joseph Harmon.

Nandlall said: “I am shocked at a statement attributed to Mr. Joseph Harmon, who said that the government should hang their heads in shame and apologise to this nation, contending that the government misled the nation in relation to some ‘bogus deadline in order to create panic.’
“It is either Mr. Harmon orbits in another planet or he is uninformed and deliberately chooses to remain so about the issues. The press carried detailed articles of the FATF meeting. Many countries were reviewed. Guyana could easily have been one of them. Fortunately, we were not.”
According to Nandlall, Harmon and the APNU are seemingly disappointed that Guyana was not reviewed and blacklisted.
He said: “As I said on a number of occasions, I do not rule out the possibility that they want that to happen so that the economy would be adversely affected, people will then blame and hold the government responsible while the APNU can extract some cheap political mileage and benefit, therefrom. Maybe that is their grand plan. If it is, they should say so, candidly, and stop engaging in shenanigans and political artifice, creating a façade that they want the Bill passed.”
The AG also expressed gratitude to the Private Sector Commission, the labour movement, the religious organisations, the diplomatic community, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the hundreds of thousands of Guyanese, both locally and overseas, who expressed their support to the government on this matter, as well as, who publicly recognised the importance of enacting the Amendments to the AML/CFT legislation.

SMALL WINDOW
Similar sentiments were expressed by the Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, who pointed out that FATF’s reprieve is a small window of time, which must be used wisely to ensure the passage of the AML/CFT Bill.
Singh said: “Guyana has been given a small window of time which government hopes will be used wisely by the Opposition to act responsibly and support the passage of the amendment bill.
“Government has maintained and has demonstrated its commitment to meet as many times as is needed to pass the Bill as is required by FATF. The coming two weeks will require the same dedication and commitment on the part of the Joint Opposition to work with Government through the Special Select Committee of the National Assembly to move this Bill through the House before February 28,” Singh exhorted.
The minister explained that to date the recommendations proposed by the APNU has been met by strong opposition by both government and civil society.
The three amendments seek to: change the entire governing apparatus of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU); remove the Attorney General wherever that name appears and replace it with the FIU; and vest a police officer or customs officer with the power to seize currency from any person, anywhere in Guyana, if those officers have reason to believe that the currency is the proceeds of crime or will be used to finance crime.
Singh said the recommendations proposed by the APNU, in particular the one “to empower the Guyana Police Force and Customs Officers to seize currency valuing in excess of US$10,000 or approximately G$2M from any citizen suspected to be involved in money laundering” are too vague.
He said: “The legal drafters of the National Assembly have also indicated that the recommendations made by the APNU are too vague and needs additional work.”
The Finance Minister made clear government’s commitment to work for the people of Guyana and to see the passage of this Bill through the National Assembly.
“We call on the APNU and the AFC to stop holding to ransom Guyana’s social and economic development for political mileage and commit to seeing this Bill to the House before February 28,” Singh stressed.

NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee is scheduled for Wednesday.
In November the Bill was defeated by the combined Opposition and in January Government re-tabled the legislation, which was subsequently recommitted to the Parliamentary Select Committee.
The Bill has spent some 10 months in Select Committee.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Committee members are expected to address the disagreements over the three proposed amendments.
Noteworthy, is that the Committee is in agreement with the provisions of the AML/CFT Bill itself.
Come February 28 Guyana’s report to CFATF has to include Guyana’s plan of action to correct its deficiencies as part of the ongoing process, as well as report the conclusions on the AMLCFT (Amendment) Bill.
A copy of the enacted Bill is also expected to be analysed by CFATF and correlated to the deficiencies identified by the body at its November 2013 Plenary meeting, before a report is made in May 2014.
Between February and May it is expected that there will be dialogue and discussions with CFATF and the current administration, with regards to the preparation of the report for CFATF Plenary.
If the May Plenary is dissatisfied with Guyana’s progress, CFATF’s November 2013 statement already provides the decision for the country’s referral to FATF which meets again in June 2014.
Written By Vanessa Narine