– Int’l financial watchdog backs steps to fight money laundering; on-site visit slated for September

By Svetlana Marshall

GUYANA has been finally cleared to be removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) review lists, and is to be paid an on-site visit shortly by the International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG). The purpose of the visit by the international watchdog body is to verify whether Guyana is indeed implementing and sustaining the outlined Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) reforms.
Making the disclosure yesterday was Attorney-General and Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams, during a press conference at his Carmichael Street, Georgetown Office.
“A year after President David Arthur Granger gave a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and CFATF to address the strategic AML/CFT deficiencies, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition government inherited from the previous government, the FATF has cleared the way for Guyana to begin to exit its process, and thereupon the CFATF process also,” Minister Williams said, as he broke what many, particularly those in the business community, might consider to be the good news.

RELATED LEGISLATION
Currently, Guyana has an Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act in place, along with other related legislation governing supervisory bodies, financial institutions, law enforcement, and foreign affairs.
The National Assembly, in May, passed the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill 2016. In 2015, it had also passed the Anti-Terrorism and Terrorist Related Activities Bill; the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill Nos. 1 and 2; and the AML/CFT Regulations,all in keeping with recommendations made by FATF and CFATF.
The decision to take Guyana off the review lists was made during an FATF Plenary and Working Group meeting held in Busan, Korea, from June 18-24.
The meeting, which was attended by the Attorney-General and Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Alicia Williams, saw the Plenary adopting FATF/ICRG Co-chair’s Report, which stated that Guyana had substantially completed its Action Plan at the Technical level.
“In line with the procedures for removing jurisdictions from ICRG review, the ICRG recommends that an on-site visit take place to the country prior to the October 2016 meetings, in order to verify that the implementation of its AML/CFT reforms has begun and is being sustained, and there is political commitment to sustain implementation,” sections of the report read.

ON-SITE VISIT
FATF/ICRG has identified September 15 and 16, 2016 for the conduct of the on-site visit, but these dates are yet to be confirmed by the Government of Guyana.
The FIU, Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), Bank of Guyana, Guyana Securities Council (GSC), the Department of Cooperatives and Friendly Societies (DCFS), the Supervisor of Insurance (SoI), Money Transfer Agencies and commercial banks are all in the line-up to be visited by the ICRG.
The international body will determine whether Guyana is adequately criminalising money-laundering and terrorist financing, and whether there are effective procedures in place for the confiscation of assets related to money-laundering.
Additionally, as part of its action plan, the country was required to establish and implement an adequate legal framework for identifying, tracing, and freezing terrorist assets; establish a fully operational and effectively functioning FIU; establish effective measures for customer due diligence and enhancing financial transparency; and strengthen suspicious transactions reporting requirements.
The final of the seven reforms required in the Action Plan relates to the implementation of an adequate supervisory framework.

ALL SYSTEMS GO
Asked whether all the institutions and agencies listed are well equipped to facilitate the visit by the ICRG, the Attorney-General’s response was: “They must be.”
In order to ensure a successful visit, the Legal Affairs Ministry will be holding meetings with the named institutions, organisations and agencies to ensure that all systems are in place, in keeping with the recommendations made by FATF and CFATF.
“Once the FATF/ICRG Co-chairs conclude that Guyana has satisfied its on-site verification, then a Motion will have to be moved, in the October Plenary, to remove Guyana from the FATF/ICRG’s review list,” Minister Williams explained.
On being removed from the said list, Guyana will, thereupon, qualify to exit the CFATF follow-up process.
At a CFATF Plenary Meeting and Working Group Agenda held in Montego Bay, Jamaica from June 5-9, 2016, CFATF had given Guyana a clean bill of health on its “Tenth Follow-Up Report,” the first submitted by the new government.

CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH
“Guyana has significantly improved its overall level of compliance, and, most importantly, Guyana has fully addressed the core and key recommendations. While Guyana satisfies the criteria for application to exit the follow-up process, it is still in the FATF/ICRG process, which it needs to complete first. As such, it is recommended that Guyana stay in enhanced follow-up, and be required to report on continuing implementation to the next plenary in November,” CFATF had said during that plenary meeting.
In November, 2013 CFATF had identified Guyana as a country with significant strategic deficiencies in its AML/CFT regime. By May, 2014 the regional financial watchdog body sounded an alarm, calling on member countries to safeguard themselves from Guyana.
“Members are therefore called upon to implement further counter-measures to protect their financial systems from the ongoing money-laundering and terrorist-financing risks emanating from Guyana,” CFATF had said, even as it announced its referral of Guyana to FATF.
CFATF members were encouraged to enhance their due-diligence measures, introduce enhanced reporting mechanisms or systematic reporting of financial transactions; refuse the establishment of subsidiaries or branches or representative offices in Guyana. Additionally, it was clearly stated that countries should minimise their business relationships or financial transactions with Guyana and even persons within the country.
But now that the tide is changing, the business community can expect Guyana’s removal from the ‘Light Grey List’ in the not-too-distant future.