New AML/CFT Bill to focus on asset forfeiture; to be ready by year-end – AG 

Guyana is working on updating its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework, with heavy emphasis being placed on the forfeiture of assets.
Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall on Thursday revealed that the new AML/CFT Bill, which will replace the existing 17-year-old legislation, is in its final stage.
“I’m hoping to take to parliament before the end of this year, and the new emphasis in investigating and prosecuting money laundering and countering the financial type of terrorism offences is on forfeiture of assets, detention of assets [and] freezing orders,” the Minister stated.

According to Nandlall, this direction has been proving to be effective in dismantling criminal networks.
“It has been now accepted that the manner in which the criminal is injured the most is when you hit him at his asset base. Because of the years, they have gotten people to serve sentences for them, or they have gone in and served sentences themselves because they know they’re coming out back to inherit an empire. If you hit them where it hurts the most – at their asset base – then you’re destroying the factory that generates the criminal conduct,” the AG posited.
With the new AML/CFT Bill focusing on the country’s confiscation framework and modernising asset recovery provisions, the Legal Affairs Minister further underscored the need for stakeholders to be prepared for the new legislation.
“This is the new emphasis that we have to be prepared for… We have to get our judges and magistrates to understand the provisions of these types of legislation. And to understand that they’re sui generis in nature, they are draconian in nature. They are not the regular type of criminal statute, and therefore, they require a different and specialised type of interpretation… So, that’s a very important piece of legislation that we have to do training on; we have to understand [and] we have to discuss the practical difficulties that we are facing,” Nandlall posited.
This focus on asset forfeiture in the new AML/CFT legislation comes just months after it was revealed that the Guyana Government will be ramping up efforts to go after assets obtained from criminal activities or through illegal means.
Back in July, Minister Nandlall had pointed out that while local law enforcement agencies have had tremendous successes in going after the assets of criminals by freezing bank accounts and seizing quantities of gold through court orders, more can be done.
When an individual is convicted for drug trafficking, they are usually sentenced to a period of imprisonment along with a fine. In the past, persons would only serve the jail time without having to pay the fine. But now, the State would be going after that fine.
“We’re now going to pursue the fines and we’re going to seize, using the law, properties that evidence suggests are the proceeds of crime or acquired through criminal means and criminal proceeds. And that is a new direction Guyana is going along with the Caribbean and the world,” Nandlall stated back in July at the side-lines of the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for the Caribbean (ARIN-CARIB) Annual General Meeting held in Georgetown.
ARIN-CARIB is a network of Caribbean law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judicial practitioners who specialise in the recovery of proceeds of crime in the region.
Delivering the feature address at the ARIN-CARIB meeting, AG Nandlall disclosed that over the years, Guyana has been working on strengthening its AML/CFT framework.  These efforts have extended beyond legislative reform to include institutional strengthening, enhanced operational coordination, expanded international cooperation, and increased capacity building among competent authorities.
According to the Legal Affairs Minister, these efforts have resulted in partnerships, both local and international, geared towards ensuring financial investigations are pursued comprehensively and that the proceeds of crime are identified, restrained, confiscated, and ultimately recovered in accordance with law.
In fact, he had pointed out that technical support over the years from the Regional Security System (RSS) has helped Guyana to develop model legislative provisions on asset recovery and confiscation. However, Nandlall recognised that the work is far from over, revealing plans to further update the local AML/CFT regime to support asset recovery efforts.
“The Government of Guyana is presently undertaking comprehensive revisions to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act. These amendments are intended to further strengthen our confiscation framework, modernise our asset recovery provisions, improve investigative powers where appropriate, and ensure continued alignment with evolving Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards as we prepare for the fifth round of Mutual Evaluations.”
“Asset recovery remains one of the clearest indicators of an effective AML/CFT regime, and we remain committed to ensuring that our legislative framework continues to evolve to meet international best practices,” the AG had stated.
This push to amend the local AML/CFT framework comes as Guyana is preparing for its upcoming Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) follow-up mutual evaluation and review scheduled for 2027, following a strong performance in its 2024 assessment.