PSC pledges to work with stakeholders to implement FATF’s action plan

THE fact that Guyana has been able to stave off blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and was given a new timeline of September 2015 to pass critical anti-money laundering legislation was welcomed by the Private Sector Commission (PSC).

The PSC has thus committed itself to working with all stakeholders to implement the Action Plan which was developed for Guyana to ensure compliance with international standards relative to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework.

In a statement issued on Friday, the PSC, said: “The Private Sector Commission pledges its support for the Action Plan which has been worked out with the ARRG (Americas Regional Review Group), and resolves to assist in any manner to help Guyana meet its international AML/CFT obligations.

“…the Private Sector Commission is heartened by the fact that the FATF and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) have accepted the high-level political commitment of Guyana to address its strategic Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) deficiencies and the extension of time given to implement its Action Plan.”

REFERRED
Guyana was referred to FATF last November by the CFATF after missing a compliance deadline, as a result of which the country was blacklisted Regionally.

The move was a result of Guyana’s cited failures relative to the passage of the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill, which continues to languish before the Parliamentary Special Select Committee reviewing the Bill.

In June this year, Guyana was reviewed by FATF, which decided that the country would be subjected to a targeted review by the ARRG.

In a letter dated July 9, 2014, FATF officially confirmed its decision to commence a targeted review of Guyana prior to its October 2014 plenary meeting, which ends today. FATF made it clear that the purpose of that targeted review would be to examine the most significant deficiencies in Guyana’s AML/CFT framework that pose a risk to the international financial system.

In September, a team from Guyana led by the Attorney-General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, met with the ARRG, to finalise a report on the advances made by the country. Coming out of that meeting, Guyana moved to put in place alternatives to address the technical deficiencies in its existing legal and financial legislative architecture for the assessment of FATF.

ARRG is FATF’s specially appointed body comprising representatives from the Americas to work with Guyana for the purpose of making a presentation of Guyana’s case at FATF’s plenary, which ended last month.

ONGOING REVIEW
Following the end of the October plenary, at which Guyana was again represented by the AG and a team, FATF made it clear that Guyana would be subjected to an ongoing process of improving AML/CFT compliance.

At FATF’s last meeting, Guyana was mandated to undertake a number of steps to address the shortcomings in the local AML/CFT framework. Among the steps outlined in a statement by FATF are:

* Adequately criminalising money laundering and terrorist financing

* Establishing and implementing adequate procedures for the confiscation of assets related to money laundering

* Establishing and implementing an adequate legal framework for identifying, tracing, and freezing terrorist assets

* Establishing a fully operational and effectively functioning financial intelligence unit

* Establishing effective measures for customer due diligence, and enhancing financial transparency; strengthening suspicious transaction reporting requirements, and

* Implementing an adequate supervisory framework.

According to the international watchdog, “Guyana made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and CFATF to address its strategic AML/CFT deficiencies, and Guyana will work on implementing its action plan to address these deficiencies.”

FATF has also stressed that Guyana must act with urgency to address the deficiencies in the local AML/CFT framework. (Vanessa Narine)