Judges and prosecutors from the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) member states will converge in Guyana next week to participate in an Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) workshop organised by the Government of Guyana in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, CFATF and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

The two-day workshop is set to open on Thursday May 3, 2018 at the Pegasus Hotel. President David Granger; Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland; CFATF Chairman and Attorney General, Basil Williams; and CFATF Executive Director, Dawne Spicer are expected to address the officials present.

During a press conference at his Carmichael Street Office, the Attorney General disclosed that one judge and one prosecutor are expected from each of the 25 CFATF member countries. These countries include: Aruba, Barbados, Belize, El Salvador, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Venezuela, Dominica, The Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Guyana will be represented by Justice Navendra Singh, Justice Jo-Ann Barlow and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Alli-Hack. An estimated number of 70 officials, including teams from the Commonwealth Secretariat and the CFATF Secretariat are expected to attend the forum here.

Minister Williams noted that in addition to the issues of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the violent extremism will also take centre stage as the judges and prosecutors discuss counter measures and their roles in this integral process. The workshop is also being held at a time when Guyana is preparing for the 4th round of Mutual Evaluation in which major emphasis is placed on ‘Technical Compliance’ and ‘Effectiveness’ in the AML/CFT regime.

“With a better understanding on the part of judges and the prosecution who would have to push any charges in relation to money laundering, we believe that this understanding could result in a more effective approach to one, doing investigations into money laundering, proffering charges for money laundering and successful prosecution of those charges, before a judge who also would be very informed about a particular regime Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism,” Minister Williams said as he explained the importance of the workshop to Guyana.

CFATF is the last of nine FATF Style Reporting Bodies (FSRB) to be hosting the workshop with judges and prosecutors. On the evening of May 3, 2018, a reception will be held at State House for the officers, and on May 4, 2018, a cultural ceremony would be held at the Umana Yana.

The AML/CFT workshop for judges and prosecutors is coming approximately four months after the country hosted a CFATF assessors training session. That seminar equipped participants with the tools and competencies needed to undertake an assessment of the technical compliance with the revised FATF recommendations, and for reviewing the level of effectiveness of a country’s Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime. Participants were also introduced to the use of the FATF Methodology which is used to assess a country’s technical compliance with the FATF recommendations, and for reviewing the level of effectiveness of a country’s AML/CFT system under the Fourth Round Mutual Evaluations process.