AS Guyana undergoes its second Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (ML/TF) National Risk Assessment, a World Bank team is scheduled to visit the country in February, 2020, to provide technical assistance.

This is according to the World Bank’s Country Representative for Guyana, Ozan Sevimli. In a letter addressed to the Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, and copied to the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, on December 18, 2019, the World Bank Representative explained that the team will visit Guyana from February 5 to 7, 2020, under the technical assistance support being provided through the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) National Risk Assessment Project.
“The objective of the mission is to undertake a three-day workshop to support the Government of Guyana in its efforts to carry out its AML/CFT National Risk Assessment and to use the assessment to design and implement its action plan,” Sevimli explained. The workshop is being organised jointly by the World Bank and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Government of Guyana.

According to Sevimli, the Bank’s team will be led by Financial Sector Specialist Matei Dohotaru, and will include Carlos Ernesto Tadeo Acosta Rodriguez, a Financial Sector Specialist and Klaudijo Stroligo, a Financial Sector Consultant.

Guyana commenced its second of risk assessment last Thursday with a working group of 75 persons – representing public and private sector organisations in the country.

At the opening ceremony held at the Pegasus Hotel, Guyana’s National Risk Assessment (NRA) Coordinator, Alicia Williams, explained that the assessment will allow the country to identify emerging money laundering and terrorist financing threats and vulnerabilities.
At this stage, attention is being placed on the Oil and Gas Sector, proliferation financing, virtual assets and illegal wildlife trade among other critical sectors. The assessment, she noted, will allow Guyana to address its vulnerabilities ahead of its 4th Round of Mutual Evaluation in 2023.

This second round of National Risk Assessment is being conducted for a period of 10 months – from December, 2019 to September, 2020, in keeping with the World Bank’s recommended three-phase process. “It is a capacity building exercise that will enable us to undertake future risk assessment without external support. It is to include all AML/CFT stakeholders from public and private sectors to bring in different perspectives and enhance their cooperation,” the NRA Coordinator stated.

In providing an overview of the first assessment, which was conducted for a period of 12 months (2016-2017), the NRA Coordinator said that, on the financial side, focus was placed on the banking sector, insurance entities, money transfer agencies and cambios. Casino, lotteries, pawn brokers, accountants, attorneys-at-law, real estate agents, credit unions, cooperatives, dealers of precious and semi-precious stones and dealers of precious metals, who fall within the Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) bracket, also came up for assessment.

“The working group found that the overall money laundering risk for Guyana was high. That was informed by the country’s overall threat, which was also rated as high and the overall vulnerability which was rated medium-high,” the NRA Coordinator explained.

According to her, the country’s threat level of terrorism was rated as medium. “The most vulnerable sectors were attorneys-at-law, accountants, real estate agents and used-car dealers,” she pointed out, while noting that those categories of professionals and businesses were deemed high risk. “The driving factor for this rating was the fact those sectors, at that time, were subject to little or no regulation and supervision for AML/CFT purposes,” she further explained.

Sectors for medium-high money laundering vulnerabilities were the bank, money transfer agencies, cambios, credit unions, dealers in precious metals, dealers in precious and semi–precious stones and cooperatives. The least vulnerable sectors were pawn brokers, betting shops, insurance companies. It was noted that recommendations made in the National Risk Assessment Report were included in a Risk-Based Action Plan. That action plan outlined the actions to be taken by the various agencies, and the timeframe in which they must be completed.

The NRA Coordinator said, in keeping with the recommendations placed on the table, the AML/CFT Proliferation Financing Coordination Committee was established. Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) have also been established between the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and AML/CFT supervisory authorities. It was noted, too, that the FIU staff capacity was increased from eight to 11 and that includes an accountant and the attorney. The Special Organised Crime Unit’s (SOCU) staff capacity was also increased from eight to 13, and further amendments made to the AML/CF Act.

According to the Attorney General, Guyana has made significant strides in combating money laundering and terrorism financing. He said it was as a result of the strong political will demonstrated by President David Granger, the government, and the Attorney General’s Chamber, that the country was removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF’s) Blacklist in 2016.

In an effort to strengthen its AML/CFT regime, which was considered weak by FATF and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), the David Granger Administration, upon entering office in 2015, put a number of legislative frameworks in place, including the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Amendment Act, thereby clearing the way for the establishment of an Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing Co-ordination Committee. It also passed the State Assets Recovery Act, Protected Disclosures Act, and the National Payments Systems Act in 2018 to bolster its legislative response. While the country has the legislative framework in place, the Attorney General said it was important for vulnerable groups to comply with the recommendations established by both FATF and CFATF as Guyana prepares for its 4th Round of Mutual Evaluation in 2023.