–PSC applauds Guyana’s removal from FATF radar

GUYANA’s removal from the ongoing global Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance process is a major breakthrough, and the Government ought to be applauded, executive member of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Dookhoo, said on Saturday.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) declared on Friday that it would no longer have Guyana under its ongoing global AML/CFT compliance process as a result of the significant progress the country has made in addressing its AML/CFT deficiencies.

In responding to this new development, Dookhoo said: “This is a major breakthrough for Guyana.” He noted that companies within the private sector would now be in a better position to conduct international transactions with ease.

The PSC executive member said although the country is still being monitored by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), the Private Sector is comforted by the fact that permission has been granted for Guyana to exit the FATF Review List.

This decision was made during the just concluded plenary meeting in Paris, which was attended by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams.

“We welcome this achievement, and we congratulate the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Mr. Basil Williams; but it is not over. We must keep working to develop a clean image for Guyana,” Dookhoo said.

President David Granger had met last month with a high-profile team from FATF’s International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG), which was here to conduct an on-site visit to assess Guyana’s progress in bringing itself into compliance with the requirements of the FATF and CFATF. The team had included CFATF Executive Director Calvin Wilson; America’s Regional Review Group (ARRG) Assessor, Gonzalo Gonzalez de Lara; FATF’s Senior Policy Analyst, Kevin Vandergrift; and CFATF’s Financial Advisor, Roger Hernandez. A report on that assessment was presented at the Paris meeting during which Guyana was cleared.

Since coming to office in May 2015, the coalition Government has taken steps to ensure the country’s financial systems become fully compliant with AML/CFT regulations. Among the steps taken are appointment of a director and deputy director for the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and making the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) functional. Additionally, an Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act is in place, along with other related legislation governing supervisory bodies, financial institutions, law enforcement, and foreign affairs.

The National Assembly had, in May, passed the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill of 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.