| The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has called on the government to come clean on Guyana’s actual status with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), noting that Guyana is still very much non-compliant and thus on the gray list and also laid out three interim measures needed to be taken.Chief Whip Gail TexeiraDuring a press briefing at the party headquarters at Freedom House, the opposition’s Chief Whip Gail Teixeira read a list of countries still non-compliant and while she noted that countries such as Sudan had made the requisite amendments to their money laundering legislation, Guyana had not.“If Sudan can make it off the FATF watch list,Wholesale China Jerseys, why can’t Guyana?” Teixeira queried. “There’s been a lot of talk on the issue on Guyana’s compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), including that Guyana is complaint,” Teixeira said. “However, FATF pronounced otherwise last week and now is the time for action.”On behalf of her party, the Chief Whip recommended three interim measures that the government must take before the next FATF review in February 2016.One of those measures was for the Government to name 10 appointees for Anti-money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Authority, which she noted can be done without a two-thirds majority in parliament;She also recommended that before the Authority’s establishment, the National Advisory Committee should be set up. The National Advisory Committee is an administrative body that does not need Parliamentary approval and she noted that it can address the deficiencies pointed out by FATF in time for the next review.The Chief Whip also recommended that further amendments to the AML/CFT (Amendment) Act be brought to the National Assembly in order to bring Guyana into compliance with FATF.According to Teixeira, since being declared non-compliant by FATF, Guyanese citizens and businesses have “suffered” and thus the problem must be addressed, even if the Government has to “eat crow” and acknowledge that it mis-stepped.Attorney General,Basil WilliamsAsked if the PPP would be willing to work with the Government on ensuring Guyana is compliant, Teixeira made it pellucid that the Government would have to take the lead, while the PPP would willingly offer support, provided they were invited by the Government side to do so.Teixeira also used several choice words to describe the Government’s attitude. ‘Carelessness’, ‘dismissiveness’, ‘disregard’ and ‘don’t care a damn’ were a few.According to the latest FATF statement, Guyana’s efforts in October 2014 were acknowledged as a demonstrating a ”high-level” commitment, but it also noted that despite passing legislation under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC), Guyana still has “strategic deficiencies” in its AML/CFT framework. As such Guyana has not moved off the list of a list of countries still under review by FATF.FATF had recommended that Guyana continue to implement its action plan that included Ensuring and implementing an adequate legal framework for identifying, tracing and freezing terrorist assets; Ensuring a fully operational and effectively functioning financial intelligence unit; Establishing effective measures for customer due diligence and enhancing financial transparency; and Implementing an adequate supervisory frameworkTeixeira questioned how it could be that Guyana’s legislation was declared compliant from several quarters, a reference to US Charge d’ Affairs Brian Hunts’ statements, as well as current Attorney General Basil Williams’s pronouncements to that effect.Under the anti-money laundering legislations, banks, insurance companies, cooperatives, pawnbrokers, cambios, money transfers and a host of other agencies have to submit reports and highlight suspicious transactions to a local body called the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).The law changes are supposed to allow measures to be taken for the seizure of monies and property acquired from illegal activities and proceeds. All agencies named have to adopt controls that will mandate customers to produce proper identification.Guyana’s previous non-passage of the Bill has however seen pressure from civil organizations and business bodies.While several Caribbean nations’ form part of the CFAT, blacklisting would have implications on the way other countries perceive and do business with the blacklisted country. |
