At the XXXVIII Plenary Meeting of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), held from November 20-21, 2013, in Freeport, Bahamas, it was resolved and decided that a Public Statement will be issued in respect of Guyana, identifying Guyana as a jurisdiction with “strategic AML/CFT deficiencies that have not made sufficient progress in addressing the deficiencies or have not complied with its Action Plan developed with CFATF to address these deficiencies. The CFATF calls on its members to consider implementing counter measures to protect their financial systems from the on going money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from Guyana.” The Statement was posted officially on the conclusion of the Plenary Meeting on November 20, 2013 and posted on the CFATF website today.

The Statement reads as follows:
In November 2011 the CFATF brought to the attention of its Members certain jurisdictions, including Guyana, with significant strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regime. With a view to encouraging expeditious rectification of the identified strategic deficiencies, Guyana and the CFATF developed an Action Plan with identified target dates to address the strategic deficiencies that exist in Guyana’s national architecture to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
As a result of not meeting the agreed timelines in its Action Plan, the CFATF issued a public statement in May 2013 recommending that Guyana take steps to ensure that it addressed its AML/CFT deficiencies. Guyana has made efforts to address its deficiencies, however, it has not taken sufficient steps towards improving its AML/CFT compliance regime by failing to approve and implement required legislative reforms. Guyana must therefore pass the relevant legislation and implement all the outstanding issues within its Action Plan including 1)fully criminalising money laundering and terrorist financing offences, 2) addressing all the requirements on beneficial ownership, 3) strengthening the requirements for suspicious transaction reporting, international co-operation, and the freezing and confiscation of terrorist assets, and 4) fully implementing the UN conventions.
Members are therefore called upon to consider implementing counter measures to protect their financial systems from the ongoing money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from Guyana.
It was further resolved and decided that a formal letter be sent to Guyana, advising that should the identified deficiencies be not satisfactorily rectified, namely, the approval and implementation of the required legislative reforms, by the next Plenary Meeting, that is, by May 2014, then Guyana will be referred by CFATF to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) International Corporation Review Group (ICRG).
However, it must be emphasised that the FATF will have its next Plenary Meeting in February 2014, and at that meeting, on its own accord and independent of CFATF, FATF can select Guyana for its own review.
It is important to explain to the Members of this House and the public that the CFATF decision blacklists Guyana.
The resolution of the CFATF Plenary has today provided all CFATF and FATF members with the treaty basis to blacklist Guyana. The experience of other jurisdictions so blacklisted by CFATF or by their geographic FATFs leaves no doubt that like them, Guyana will be severely affected.
This will place Guyana’s financial, banking and insurance sectors under severe scrutiny, with serious consequences for financial transactions for consumers, the business community, and the government’s provision of goods and services.
We are reminding this House that the CFATF assessor stated that 98% of Guyana’s deficiencies relate to the legislative reforms already encompassed in the amendments brought by the PSSC on the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, No. 12/2013, which was defeated on November 7, 2013.
Worse is yet to come!
Were Guyana not to put its house in order according to the CFATF’s recommendations before February 2013, FATF will be unavoidably called in by the ICRG. FATF blacklisting structures can only be avoided by Guyana achieving 100% compliance with its recommendations.
The experience of those countries so affected has shown the years taken under blacklisting for the 100% compliance to be met and the blacklisted to be lifted.