Guyana’s Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluation by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) will commence on Monday, 4th September.
Starting next Monday, CFATF experts will assess Guyana’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, including the country’s legal framework, and its levels of implementation. Significant attention will also be placed on the prosecution of financial crimes.
“It is going to be an onsite examination, and a number of important agencies, important agencies in our financial and fiscal structure will be engaged, will be interviewed, and will be examined by these assessors,” the Attorney General said.
The Guyana Police Force, the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU), the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU), the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Guyana Gold Board, the Guyana Gaming Authority and the National Securities Council are among the entities that will be assessed. The country’s Banking Sector will also be placed under the microscope starting with the Bank of Guyana.
It was also noted that Attorney General, who is also the Chairman of the National Task Force on AML/CFT will engage in the process along with the Ministers of Finance, Natural Resources, Governance and Parliamentary Affairs and Home Affairs.
According to the Attorney General, preparatory work for the evaluation is advanced.
“A lot of preparatory work has been done to prepare Guyana for this exercise and it is expected that we ought to do well. The preparation is still ongoing but the assessment will begin on September 4th and it will continue until on or about the 15th of September,” he said.
Three weeks ago, the National Assembly passed the updated Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill in keeping with earlier recommendations made by CFATF.
The legislation strengthens the State’s ability to forfeit the assets of criminals as well as proceeds of crime. A Guyana Compliance Commission Bill was also passed by the National Assembly, paving the way for the establish of a national commission that will regulate and supervise a number of unregulated industries such as the Auto Sales Industry.
The AML/CFT Amendment Act, and the Guyana Compliance Commission Bill are just two of several laws passed in recent years to bring the country in compliance with the international standards as set out by CFATF and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
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