Guyana begins preparation for 2027 CFATF evaluation, to attend conference in TT next month

Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall has announced that Guyana has already commenced preparations for its 2027 Mutual Evaluation Peer Assessment Exercise, which will be conducted by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).
Nandlall also revealed that a delegation from Guyana will travel to Trinidad and Tobago next month for a CFATF conference ahead of the assessment. Speaking during his weekly online programme “Issues in the News” on Tuesday, Nandlall underscored the importance of the assessment process, which evaluates countries’ compliance with international standards on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.
“Yours truly is the Minister with responsibility for that sector. We have already begun our preparation for that mutual evaluation exercise that will take place next year,” Nandlall said. “Later in the month of May, we will be going to a conference in Trinidad where we will update the CFATF on the work that we have done so far, and we will report to them our progress and what we plan to do to ensure that we comply with all of our obligations to be ready for the 2027 assessment. It’s an ongoing process, so from May 24-28, we will be attending a conference in Trinidad.”
According to the AG, the Guyanese delegation will include representatives from several key agencies integral to the country’s compliance framework.
“The Guyana delegation comprises a very large number of bodies from Guyana: the Central Bank of Guyana, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Guyana Gold Board (GGB), SOCU (Special Organised Crime Unit), the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). A whole set of organisations normally attend these conferences because their agencies are part of the framework that must ensure we comply with these international standards,” Nandlall noted.
Guyana is a member of CFATF, which is the regional institution that monitors, evaluates and ensures compliance of countries in this hemisphere with international rules and regulations regarding anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.
CFATF plays a central role in ensuring that countries in the region follow global financial security standards. CFATF is an associate member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international body that sets the benchmark for anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT).
The Mutual Evaluation Peer Assessment Exercise is the central mechanism used by the CFATF to assess how well its member countries are preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. Every few years, each member country undergoes a detailed assessment of its AML/CFT systems.
Nandlall explained that the evaluation occurs every three years and involves a comprehensive review of a country’s financial systems and legal structures.
“Every three years, each country in the region must undergo a mutual evaluation peer assessment exercise, where the country’s financial system, legal framework, law enforcement network and accountability architecture are all examined by a team assembled by the Financial Action Task Force of the Caribbean and appraised to ensure compliance,” Nandlall explained.
“If they are not compliant, they work with them to see that there is compliance, and if, for whatever reason, there is a refusal to comply or a failure to comply, then a penalty regime is activated.”
Nandlall recalled Guyana’s past challenges under a previous Administration, where the penalty regime had been activated against Guyana. However, with the change of Government, the country was restored to good standing.
“At one point in time, when the AFC/APNU (A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change) used their one-seat majority Government, they caused that penalty regime to be activated against Guyana,” Nandlall recalled.
“In 2024, Guyana went through that exercise, and we acquitted ourselves with distinction. In fact, we topped the independent English-speaking Caribbean with the highest score. That was in 2024; in 2027, we are up for a review again.”