…Anti-money laundering body urges tough sanction

The Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs’ National Coordinating Committee said SUPERBET, a gaming entity, has been operating without a licence.
During its statutory meeting last month, it said measures should be taken to ensure SUPERBET faces the full force of the law. In a statement issued on Wednesday, it said it has a priority to ensure all reporting entities become compliant with the AMLCFT legislation.
The National Coordinating Committee said it remains committed to ensuring Guyana is not blacklisted for a failure to comply with international standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
In its quest to steer Guyana away from being blacklisted, the national committee will be sensitizing and training the requisite agencies regarding their Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLCFT) obligations. It said it stands committed to regulating all reporting entities.

At the statutory meeting, the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams introduced Rommel St. Hill who was recently appointed as the new Assistant Solicitor General with responsibility for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).

St. Hill, an Attorney-at-law for more than 12 years, is the former Legal Adviser for the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). Mr. St. Hill explained that more resources were needed to build capacity in each agency and that the committee needed a globalized approach to combating terrorist financing and anti-money laundering.

The meeting was attended representatives of the Bank of Guyana (BOG); the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU); the Guyana Gold Board; the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission; the Guyana Revenue Authority; the Special Organized Crime Unit; the Gaming Authority; Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions; the Chief Cooperatives Development Officer/Registrar of Friendly Societies and the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs.

During the meeting, plans were streamlined for the upcoming seminar in May that will address the supervision and regulation of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professionals. “This has been a priority for the committee for some time and as such the committee has set a date for this training. In addition, Supervisory Authorities reported on activities of their reporting entities,” the Ministry said. The Committee remains committed to establishing a national strategy that will ensure that Guyana remains compliant with FATF standards. The United States hailed the progress made by Guyana in its fight against anti-money laundering.