Guyana asked to help lead steering group of RSS asset recovery arm

– application to join int’l Egmont Group to be presented next year

Guyana is making waves in the international finance oversight world, with its recent participation at the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) plenary resulting in the country being asked to become a member of the steering group of one of the Regional Security Services (RSS) operating arms.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Attorney General Anil Nandlall recently led a delegation of senior local officials to CFATF’s 55th plenary and working group meetings in the Cayman Islands.
While at the meeting – the first in-person one of the CFATF member countries since the COVID-19 pandemic – Guyana engaged in a number of meetings and formed strategic alliances on the margins of the plenary.

One such alliance was with the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of the Caribbean (ARIN-CARIB), which has invited Guyana to join its steering group. It was explained in the statement that the steering group is comprised of eight members of the network and is responsible for the administration of the group.
“Guyana’s participation in the plenary is in line with the Government’s commitment to fighting financial crime and money laundering on all fronts. It is also aligned with our recent acceptance as a member of the Regional Security Services (RSS),” the AG Chambers announced.
“Guyana also attended the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of ARIN-CARIB, which is the operating arm of the RSS, focused on informal cooperation of the law enforcement agencies to facilitate the exchange of intelligence in the recovery of assets accumulated from the proceeds of crime.”
During the meeting, Guyana also received an update on its application for Egmont membership. The Egmont Group is made up of over 150 Financial Intelligence Units (FIU) and is affiliated with the Anti-Money Laundering/Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) organisational structure. Among other things, they facilitate intelligence exchange and cooperation on money laundering.
“The country is now a step closer to acquiring membership, having recently passed further necessary amendments to the AML/CFT legislation. Guyana’s application is expected to be presented to the Egmont Group’s Membership, Support and Compliance Working Group on the Margins of the next Egmont Plenary scheduled for early 2023,” the AG chambers announced.
“Delegations benefitted from presentations from regional and international bodies including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the United States Department of Treasury – Office of Terrorism Financing and Financial Crimes (OTFFC). This is in addition to extensive discussions on the mutual evaluation reports of Suriname and Venezuela.”
Meanwhile, six Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed on the margins of the event, with FIUs from Bermuda, Bahamas, Haiti, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the British Virgin Islands. These MoUs, according to the statement, will assist in supporting money laundering investigations.
And as Guyana prepares for its September 2023 mutual evaluation, it was agreed that additional training would be provided to Guyana. In fact, a virtual 4th Round FATF Standards Training is scheduled to occur in early January 2023.
The Bank of Guyana, which was represented by its Governor, Dr Gobind Ganga, meanwhile had discussions with CFATF on the margins of the plenary… also regarding sector specific training for its staff in preparation for the upcoming Mutual Evaluation.
The Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), represented by its head Faizal Karimbaksh, also met with other regional law enforcement agencies to create strategic alliances that will aid in combatting cross border related issues of money laundering.
Others from the Guyana delegation who were present included the Director of the FIU, Matthew Langevine, Head of Compliance Alicia Williams, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Natasha Backer and Rommel St Hill, who is the AML/CFT Officer in the Attorney General’s Office.