THE Bankers Association in Guyana has, recently, brought to the attention of the Administration, problems being encountered as a consequence of this country being blacklisted by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).

Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon told reporters, at his weekly press briefing at Office of the President(OP), Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, in Georgetown, that the grouping spoke about specific incidents affecting them at a recent meeting of the parties at OP.
The issues pertain, specifically, to the transfer of monies and their engagements with corresponding banks in foreign jurisdictions.
“The difficulties range from enormous increases in procedural aspects to the more difficult situation of the abandonment and the cessation of the agreements and the working relationships between these corresponding banks,” Luncheon revealed.
He said: “And the insurance companies, money transfer companies, they have all been identified as institutions in which the impact of the blacklisting has reared its ugly head and, to be honest, a strong suspicion that the situation would, more than likely, deteriorate further.”
CFATF had put Guyana on the blacklist for failing to enact legislation for strengthening laws against financial crimes.
The combined political Opposition had voted down the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill last November 7, ignoring pleas from the Government to support the bill.
As a result of missing that deadline, the CFATF issued an adverse public statement, calling on member states which fall under its jurisdiction to take the necessary measures for protecting themselves from the risks that Guyana poses, as a potential money-laundering and terrorism haven.

Protect themselves
Several Central Banks in the Caribbean have, since, issued advisories, warning their respective commercial sectors of Guyana’s current position and are calling on their constituent members to protect themselves from whatever risks are emanating from Guyana.
Meanwhile, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr. Anil Nandlall, has said that the main objective is that the amendments which have been rejected by the Opposition ought to be passed before February 2014, so that Guyana will no longer be a country with identified deficiencies in its AML/CFT legislation.
“If we are able to pass this bill, if not before February, then by May, 2014, Guyana can extricate itself from this list that it finds itself on and we can be restored to some level of normalcy,” he stated.
He had emphasised that on failing to do this, Guyana would have gone onto a very advanced stage in terms of failure to comply with the policies and the guidelines set by the by AML/CFT regulatory bodies and, as a result, be handed over to the Financial Action Task Force International Cooperation Review Group (FATFICRG) which will then take charge of Guyana.