THE British High Commissioner, Andrew Ayre, at the reception to commemorate the Queen’s birthday, Tuesday night, spotlighted the dangers of Guyana’s effective international blacklisting, with its referral to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and stressed that the reversal of Guyana’s “hard-won gains” can still be avoided.

He said, “Guyana is at a pivotal moment in its history. The likely blacklisting of your country by the Financial Action Task Force may reverse many of the hard-won gains.
“It was avoidable, and might yet still be avoided, but to do so needs immediate action to adopt and implement the numerous recommendations that FATF requires of us all, including carrying out investigations into complex financial crime.”
According to him, the United Kingdom and its international partners have worked hard over the past 18 months to assist Guyana, including through offers of training and mentoring.
“I do not know why this work, which requires no new legislation, has not been done,” Ayre said.
The British High Commissioner made clear the urgency for political parties to adopt, without further delay, the revised Anti-Money Laundering and the Countering of Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill.
“The time for playing politics was over months ago,” he stressed.
CFATF on May 28 pronounced on Guyana’s failure to address deficiencies in Guyana’s AML/CFT framework and through a missive to its members, counter-measures against Guyana were advised, effectively blacklisting the country on the international scene. The regional watchdog body also recommended Guyana to FATF for review.
Through a missive to its members, the counter-measures against Guyana that were advised by CFATF include: the requirement of enhanced due diligence measures; introducing enhanced reporting mechanisms or systematic reporting of financial transactions; refusing the establishment of subsidiaries or branches or representative offices in Guyana; and taking into account the fact that financial institutions from Guyana that do not have adequate AML/CFT systems and limit the business relationships or financial transactions with the country.
FATF’s next plenary meeting is slated for June 23 to 25, 2014 in Paris, France, at which time the international body is likely to put Guyana up for review by its International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG).
Written By Vanessa Narine