– President warns against slick organised crime
– says Caribbean is attractive to financial pirates

Top judicial officers of the Caribbean on Thursday commenced a workshop focusing on combatting money-laundering and financial crimes and President David Granger in declaring open the forum stressed that the rule of law must be strengthened and safeguarded to ensure that the fight against these scourges is successful.

He noted too that right at home Guyana has made significant strides to boost and implement robust legislation, which can ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice. The two-day workshop, is being held under the theme, “Anti- Money Laundering and Countering of Financing of Terrorism, Countering Violent Extremism,” which is organised by the Government of Guyana in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), targets Judges and Magistrates from Commonwealth member states across the Caribbean. It seeks to establish mechanisms for Caribbean jurisdictions to strengthen measures for the continuous sharing of intelligence, information and best practices relating to financial crimes and to cooperate with each other in the investigation and interdiction of transnational crime and the enforcement of financial laws. It also aims to build the capacity of institutions, which police these systems and prosecute financial crimes.

The Guyanese leader said that the rule of law is society’s protection from financial and other crimes. “The rule of law is society’s sword and shield against financial crimes. It is the bulwark, which protects citizens against despotism. It guarantees the principle of equality before the law, the promotion of law and order and respect for citizens’ rights and the predictable dispensation of justice through the recourse to independent and impartial institutions to settle disputes.” President Granger said Caribbean citizens, without the protection of the law, could become captive to slick organised crime. He said the criminal justice systems of small states must be safeguarded from the subversion of organised crime. “The rule of law must be a shield, protecting our citizens and our institutions and a spear to combat money-laundering and terrorist-financing by inculcating norms which encourage compliance with the laws, increasing the likelihood of interdiction and prosecution of financial crimes and imposing penalties, which act as effective deterrents to such crimes,” he said.

Tax evaders
Noting that many Caribbean states have become an attractive destination for financial pirates, privateers, money-launderers and tax-evaders, President Granger said that the Caribbean countries must be resourced and supported to protect their institutions against the threats of money-laundering and terrorist-financing. Robust legislation and sturdy institutions are the weapons in the war against financial crimes, he said.

In this regard, the Head of State said that Guyana, cognisant of this fact, over the past years, has embarked on the path of passing legislation to counter financial crimes. Among these are the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT) Bill, which allowed for the improvement of compliance with the standards of the CFATF. “Guyana has strengthened its institutions – such as the Bank of Guyana, the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions – which have been empowered with the authority and autonomy and equipped with the technical resources and personnel to discharge their functions under its Anti-Money Laundering and the Countering Terrorism-Financing legislation,” he said.

Noting that small Caribbean states are limited not only in size but, also, in human resources, technology and capital and these constraints could impair the capability of law-enforcement agencies to combat transnational criminal cartels, the President sounded a call for intensified international collaboration, which he said, could improve communication, cooperation and capacity-building.

Be guardians
Meanwhile, Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Patricia Scotland called on judges and prosecutors from across the Region to be guardians of their country’s financial institutions. Such a move, Attorney General and Leader Affairs Minister Basil Williams said is even more critical as countries enter into the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluation to determine the effectiveness of their Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes.

Scotland pointed out said financial institutions of almost every country around the world are under threat of being exploited for criminal and terrorist purposes. The legal luminaries, she said therefore “have a duty to be vigilant guardians, protecting the safety and well-being of all our people. They must ensure that we have the capacity to safeguarding our institutions in order to prevent them from being exploited by criminal and terrorist purposes.”

It is becoming increasingly challenging for the detection of these financial crimes, the Commonwealth Secretary General noted while explaining that sources of these funding are diverse and flow with “constantly shifting channels of distributions.” To tackle the situation, she said it is important for countries to have the best and the most up-to-date legal and criminal justice tools available.

Rate of convictions
Minister Williams, in delivering his speech, said the rate of prosecutions and convictions for money laundering and financing of terrorism offences is a concern. “While many of our countries in the Caribbean Region have enacted the necessary legislative measures to criminalise money laundering, as well as terrorist financing and proliferation financing, the overall rate of convictions and the confiscation of criminal proceeds have been moderate,” he explained.

The Attorney General noted that if the global AML/CFT efforts are to be effective, it is critical for countries to also obtain convictions and pursue seizing and confiscating the proceeds and instrumentalities of crime for the benefit of States and victims. This particular element of effectiveness in the implementation of the AML/CFT legislation is important for countries like Guyana to exit the Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluation.

Fighting against violent extremism
Minister Williams said Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) is also an important element in the fight against extremist who seek to recruit, radicalise and mobilise their followers to commit acts of violence. For these reasons the two day workshop is critical, and according to the Attorney General, it creates a platform for the gathering and sharing experiences, challenges and best practices in investigating and prosecuting money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as depriving criminals of their proceeds.

In the past, the CFATF in conjunction with the Commonwealth Secretariat has held programmes for Judges (in Jamaica, in 2012) and Prosecutors (in St. Lucia, in 2015). However, with focus on the Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluations, the workshop is being held boost Regional Judicial and Prosecutorial Services. President of the Financial Action Task Force Santiago Otamendi, CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque, Members of the Commonwealth and representatives of CFATF member states such as Antigua and Barbuda; the Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Jamaica; Saint Lucia; St Kitts and Nevis; St Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago are among those attending the forum.