– CFATF ‘drop dead’ date two days away

THE Parliamentary Special Select Committee reviewing the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill is scheduled to meet today at 5:00pm.

And with the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s (CFATF) advisor, Roger Hernandez, having made clear that Friday, February 28, is the “drop dead” date for Guyana to enact the Bill, the positions of the combined Opposition has not changed.
Leader of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), David Granger, as recent as Monday, was quoted in a media report maintaining that “APNU’s position is unchanged; we would continue to insist that the essential amendments are inserted into the Bill.”
The three referenced 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 a 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.
The Alliance For Change (AFC) position reflects a similar stance, in that the party is also maintaining its initial position on the matter; that the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) be established before AFC Members of Parliament approve the Bill.
Noteworthy is that neither party has objected to the provisions of the Bill itself.

HARDLINE POSITIONS
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, in whose name the Bill was returned to the National Assembly, after being defeated last November, made it clear that the pronouncements by CFATF are clear.
“Government has exhausted every reasonable option available,” he stressed.
The AG stressed that the Government remains committed to meeting the new February 28 deadline, as stipulated by CFATF.
“We are committed to the deadline and the Government is doing everything within its capability to meet that deadline.”
He charged that the positions held by the Opposition parties are unreasonable, given the dire consequences that are being risked with the non-passage of the Bill.
Nandlall said, “We continue to say that the Bill, approved by CFATF and to which the Opposition has no objection, should be passed forthwith….this is eminently a more sensible and prudent course of action, where all sides can have their views represented.
“What their positions exemplify is an unreasonable degree of stubbornness, which cannot be rationalised on the basis on logic, common sense, national interest or even politics.”
The AG pointed out that the deadline must be kept in focus, as Guyana should not risk missing it.
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.

(By Vanessa Narine)