Appointments for AML/CFT Authority further delayed

A motion tabled in the National Assembly on Thursday, which was centred on the adoption of the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Appointments to address the appointment of members to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Authority, was shut down by the Government in a vote that saw it being deferred to another sitting.
The motion was moved by Chairman of the Appointments Committee of the National Assembly, Social Cohesion Minister, Dr George Norton, who asked for it

to be deferred to another date. Dr Norton did not provide any explanation or give any reasons for the said deferral. But this did not go down too well with the Opposition, who argued that the continuous deferral does not bode well for Government.
Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira was the first to bring this issue to the attention of Speaker Dr Barton Scotland. Teixeira described the request as highly irregular and demanded that Dr Norton provide an explanation for the request to members of the House, especially since this matter has been repeatedly put off by the Government nearing 10 months now.
“I have to be suspicious, Sir, as to why this is being deferred at this time. Is it that the 10 names of the Committee with civil society to bring to this House, are they no longer considered fit and proper? Because the Minister of Legal Affairs (Basil Williams) stated in his latter that CFATF (Caribbean Financial Action Task Force recommended that the Act need to be amended,” she added.
The Committee had recommended: Captain Gerald Gouveia and Nicholas Deygoo for the Private Sector Commission; Wayne Fordyce of the Guyana Association of Bankers; Thomas Bissessar Singh and Frederick Collins for Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc; Mohamed Alli and Christopher Ram of Bar Association of Guyana; and Melissa Jessica DeSantos for Insurance Institute of Guyana.
The Member of Parliament (MP) also pointed out that there was no reference in 100 pages in four reports that CFATF was recommending that the Authority did not comply with the AML/CFT. She said this pointed to the fact that the Authority to which the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) was made responsible would undermine the independence of the FIU and this would render Guyana’s AML/CFT structure defective.
Like her colleague Anil Nandlall had stated before, Teixeira told the National Assembly that the Government must state exactly what it intended to do. She said if the Government have to repeal the Section of the Act which creates the Authority, then they must come out straight and say that.
She reminded that the creation of this Authority was part of the amendments which the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) used their majority to impose upon the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill 2014, which the previous Government had tabled in the 10th Parliament. The Opposition has maintained that it was unnecessary and not part of the recommendations of CFATF.
The Authority’s specific responsibilities according to the Act are to ensure that the work of the FIU is conducted in an efficient, fair and cost-effective manner, in accordance with policy guidelines determined by the Assembly and the Finance Minister, ensuring, in the national interest, the performance of the FIU accords with international obligations and commitments, among others.
During Teixeira’s contribution, Attorney General Basil Williams rose on a point of order and sought a clarification on the MP’s statement. Williams defended the reason for the deferral stating that the matter regarding the AML/CFT was one that was self-explanatory and could not be further debated. The Speaker then intervened and asked the AG to stay focused after he began to stray away from the argument at hand.
This was met with Opposition by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) MPs, who prompted the Speaker of the House to take the matter to a vote. Twenty-nine MPs voted in favour of the deferral and 28 MPs against. The motion for deferral was then carried.
Despite this, the Opposition has indicated that the process by which members of this Authority were to be appointed was also deeply flawed, since the members of this Authority were to be appointed by MPs, who are “politically exposed persons” and are liable to be investigated by the persons whom they are to appoint. This argument, the Opposition said, also applies to the FIU Director, Deputy Director and other senior functionaries of the FIU who are appointed by the National Assembly. The establishment of this Authority is in keeping with the AML/CFT (Amendment) Act No 1 of 2015, Section 7A (1), which states that, “the National Assembly shall by a simple majority and on the recommendation of the Parliamentary Committee on Appointments, after the Committee may deem necessary to consult, appoint a body comprising 10 members to be known as the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of Financing of Terrorism Authority.”