he Private Sector Commission (PSC) on Thursday facilitated an Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) workshop, targeting private business entities.
The event was hosted at the Pegasus International Hotel, in Georgetown. Chairman of trade and investments of the PSC, Ramesh Dookhoo, said the process involving the AML has been a difficult one, noting that Government should be celebrated for moving Guyana to this point, after the country was put on the list a few years ago.
Participants at the workshop on Thursday
He recalled that back in 2000, Guyana passed the Money Laundering Prevention Act, while it was a member of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF); an associate of Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
He said the new Government after coming into office made it a priority to table the Act which it put forward while in Opposition.
Speaking to the attendees, who included representatives of private businesses, the Dokhoo said the issues remains a serious one. Dookhoo said he was somewhat disappointed in the Bankers who never seemed to be vocal about things that affect them and their customers.
Executive member of the PSC, Jerry Gouveia, said he has been a part of the organisation for some 24 years. However, he was unaware of the importance of money laundering.
Legal Affairs Minster Basil Williams on Wednesday announced that Guyana has been cleared by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), less than a month after it successfully exited the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regime.
The Attorney General is presently attending a CFATF plenary and working group meeting in Turks and Caicos.
CFATF is expected to release a report on this new decision soon.
In May 2014, CFATF had handed over Guyana to the FATF due to the country’s then failure to meet the agreed timelines in its Action Plan. However, since then significant progress has been made resulting in the country being removed from FATF’s watch list last month
FATF had reported last month too that Guyana still had deficiencies in its AML/CFT regime. The organisation recommended that Guyana continue to implement its action plan by ensuring and implementing an adequate legal framework for identifying, tracing and freezing terrorist assets. It also wanted Guyana to ensure a fully operational and effectively functioning financial intelligence unit; establish effective measures for customer due diligence and enhancing financial transparency and implement an adequate supervisory framework.
Last month, FIU Director Matthew Langevine and his deputy Abiose Thomas assumed their duties in keeping with the FATF recommendation.
The FIU functions in collaboration with the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Finance Ministry in identifying and tracking persons fingered in financial illegalities.
Additionally, a FATF/International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) delegation visited Guyana last month to assess its reforms.
Attorney General Basil Williams had explained that the reforms include adequately criminalising money laundering and terrorist financing, establishing and implementing adequate procedures for the confiscation of assets related to money laundering, and establishing and implementing an adequate legal framework for identifying, tracing and freezing terrorist assets; as well as establishing a fully operational effectively functioning financial intelligence unit, establishing effective measures for customer due diligence and enhancing financial transparency, strengthening suspicious transaction reporting requirements, and implementing an adequate supervisory framework.
Williams had also announced that the regional watch body had lauded Guyana for its progress in strengthening its AML/CFT regime during the CFATF plenary meeting and working groups agenda in June last.
