MASSY Guyana Limited has brought its directors and senior management up to speed about Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism through a training seminar held recently.

The training was held at a critical time, when the country is placing major emphasis on data collection ahead of the 4th Round of Mutual Evaluations in 2022.
In delivering the keynote address at the seminar, Dr Toussaint Boyce highlighted the challenges facing the Region as a result of the incidence of money laundering and the effects of the de-risking of correspondent banking relationships at the national, regional and international levels.

He also provided much-needed insight into the domino effects of de-risking by large international banks and the concomitant realities faced by the financial sectors of the Caribbean.

Dr Boyce is a stellar Guyanese academic and heads the Office of Integrity, Compliance and Accountability (ICA) at the Caribbean Development Bank, in Barbados.
Chairman of the Guyana Group, Deo Persaud, in underscoring the need for good corporate governance, recommitted Massy Guyana Limited to being a good corporate entity.

Persaud, in his remarks, said Massy as a group is dedicated to complying with the provisions of the AML/CFT Act of 2009, and as a result, has established a fully functional compliance department in keeping with the company’s statutory obligations.
Also addressing the participants was director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Matthew Langevine. He discussed the role of directors in AML governance, while stressing the importance of the appointment of qualified compliance officers, the creation and implementation of AML/CFT policies and procedures, the training of staff in compliance and the reporting of suspicious activity to the FIU.

He commended Massy for facilitating the training and for its dedication to ensuring compliance with the AML/CFT legislation. Langevine also lauded Massy for being the first company in Guyana to host an event of its kind.

Attorney-at-Law Yolander Persaud, who heads the Massy Guyana Compliance Department, in brief remarks, highlighted the legal requirements and responsibilities of reporting entities, and paid particular attention to the penalties for failing to do so as laid out in the 2017 Amendment of the legislation. She also noted that companies which are deemed as reporting entities under the Anti-Money Laundering /Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act) have a statutory duty to facilitate such training for their directors and senior management team. Ms Persaud is also legal adviser and corporate secretary for the group.

The event was attended by the directors and senior management employees of all of the Massy companies.
This training forms part of Massy’s activities to mark the Group’s 50th anniversary.