GUYANA is now dangerously poised to being blacklisted and sanctioned by the international community, following a move by the combined opposition to have amendments to the Money Laundering Laws placed before a Special Select Committee of Parliament.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, who presented the amendments to the House for debate and a second reading at Tuesday’s sitting pleaded to no avail, pointing out that Guyana would have to approve the changes in the law by the 27th of this month.
A Partnership for National Unity’s Basil Williams was unmoved in his quest to have the matter deferred to a select committee, as against being debated on Tuesday evening and approved.
The move to have the Bill referred to the Select Committee found favour with the Alliance For Change (AFC), whose Vice-Chair Moses Nagamootoo said that the party will not be held to ransom by any proverbial ‘shot-gun to its head’ in the form of international sanctions.
Nandlall, presenting the legislation to the House, argued that ‘elaborate’ amendments to the legislation arise out of Guyana’s obligations to the Vienna Convention as well as the Palermo Terrorist Financing Conventions.
According to the Minister of Legal Affairs, should Guyana renege on its obligations, the country can firstly be placed on an international blacklist with the possibility of prohibitory sanctions being imposed.
The minister informed the House that the recommendations in the form of the amendments that have been presented to the National Assembly emanate from the Caribbean Financial Action Taskforce.
This body, he says, monitors just about 29 countries in the Region.
The taskforce, according to Nandlall, is responsible for “monitoring the operation of legislation of this type and nature throughout the Caribbean area.”
Nandlall explained to the House that the taskforce would have over time been assessing the different experiences across the Region, as well as the different international treaties that the nations would have signed on to prior to making their recommendations.
The amendments he said are “considered key and core recommendations arising out of Guyana’s obligations under two treaties.”
The attorney general, in his press to have the amendments debated and approved even as the midnight hour approached on Tuesday evening, said, “It is of some national importance and a patriotic imperative on the part of all of us to ensure that we meet those obligations which devolve upon us under these international treaties.”
Should Guyana be placed on the blacklist, it would open the proverbial floodgates to a whole new set of international treatment, some prohibitive, said Nandlall.
The attorney general said nations that are blacklisted would find themselves being subjected to even more stringent scrutiny and examination.
He said that the possible prohibitive sanctions that would be imposed would also preclude Guyana from “participating in a whole host of activities.”
Nandlall said too that the obligations to these conventions are monitored by the United Nations.
He indicated to the House that several experts would have been in Guyana recently “to speak to us about the amendments.”
Nandlall implored that the House would need to have the matter addressed within an identified time-frame expiring, on May 27.
Speaker of the House, Raphael Trotman, prior to putting the vote on having the matter deferred to the Select Committee, reminded of the time constraints and had attempted to press for a time-line to be placed on the Committee.
AFC member Nagamootoo declared that while the party is willing to expedite the matter, it would not be bound by any time-lines.
Williams, explaining his party’s reason to have the matter deferred to the Committee, said that the amendments were very complicated.
Arguing against having the matter transferred to a Select Committee, Nandlall had sought to explain to the House that while such a route is commendable and in fact an exercise that should be resorted to provide for greater input, “unfortunately, on this occasion, the option to a Select Committee resort may not be a prudent one.”
An unmoved opposition subsequently used its majority in the House to have the matter committed to the Committee.
Speaker Trotman immediately convened the Selection Committee to have the members of the Special Select Committee voted for by the House elected.
That Committee met for the first time yesterday in a closed door session at Parliament Building, where it began work on the amendments that had been put forward by Nandlall.