THE Parliamentary Special Select Committee reviewing the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill met yesterday and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) members are still to clarify queries from the Chief Parliamentary Counsel regarding their proposed amendments.This was according to Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle last night.
The AG said, “What is clear is that the bill is unlikely to be presented to the National Assembly for passage tomorrow (today).”
He stated that the Committee’s meeting was adjourned to 11:00am today.

CLARIFICATIONS STILL NEEDED
Nandlall said, “At the last meeting, on February 21, the APNU members were not prepared with answers to the Chief Parliamentary Counsel’s queries and again today (yesterday) we saw them still being unprepared to furnish the requested explanations.
“They produced nothing in writing; however, they orally explained and clarified some of the queries but there are still issues that are outstanding.”
He explained that on February 9, after 10 months of considering the Bill, the APNU forwarded their proposals in “raw language” and these had to first be refined by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel.
The AG said, “When the CPC completed his examination of what was presented to him, he wrote to the committee seeking explanations and clarification and posed several questions in respect of the constitutionality of some of the provisions as well as the compatibility with the provisions of the Principal Act, as well as sister legislations.
“He requested that the APNU members provide him with explanations to his queries. This letter was sent out since February 19.”
The AG noted too that the Chief Parliamentary Counsel was requested to complete the draft, with the aid of APNU’s oral explanations, in time for today’s meeting.
Nandlall said, “The Chief Parliamentary Counsel has indicated to them that this will be an uphill task.
“Tomorrow (today) at 11:00am Chief Parliamentary Counsel will be expected to report whether he has completed their draft.
“However, when that is completed, it is expected that the Government side will have to examine it and then the Committee will have to deliberate to give its approval.”

PROBLEMATIC AMENDMENTS
The AG pointed out that the proposed amendments are the same amendments “with a few cosmetic changes” that the Government has problems with.
He said, “The Government has indicated in Committee and in public that they find these unacceptable.
“Also having regard to the public consultations with stakeholders in the trade union movement, the private sector and Guyanese from all walks of life, these proposals have been rejected.
“The APNU members, nevertheless, are pursing them resolutely.”
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 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 APNU continues to ram these amendments down the throat of Guyana,” Nandlall stressed.
The amendments, at the last Committee Meeting, were dubbed by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s (CFATF) advisor, Roger Hernandez, as ‘risky” ones.
“The concern that we have is that the amendments being put forward may make those areas that were formally compliant, non-compliant. There is a risk with that,” he said.
Hernandez explained that there are two major risks in the amendments as presented: one that Guyana could become non-compliant in areas the country has already been deemed compliant; and two, that their implementations presents several challenges in terms of effectiveness.
He stressed that these “observations” were made known to all the Committee members for their consideration.
“This is definitely something for the parties concerned to look at,” Hernandez said.
The CFATF advisor added that his observations are confined to the amendments in their current form – an acknowledgement that they are still to be finalised.
Whether the amendments become a part of the Bill, whose provisions the Committee has unanimously supported, or not, Hernandez noted that the enacted legislation will be subject to review by CFATF to ensure that it is compliant with required standards.
He reiterated that the concerns over the current risks of including the amendments, as is, into the Bill have been expressed.
Hernandez disclosed to members of the media that once Guyana is required to submit a report to CFATF on February 28, which must include a copy of the enacted Bill, which will, after analysis, be correlated to the deficiencies identified by the body at its November 2013 Plenary meeting, before a report is made in May 2014.
Guyana with the current state of events is likely to miss CFAFT’s deadline and be recommended for international sanctions by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), in addition to already being blacklisted regionally by CFAFT.