The Government is laying the groundwork to seize hundreds of millions of dollars in properties, assets and monies linked to criminal activities, Attorney General Anil Nandlall has announced.

Speaking during his weekly “Issues In the News” programme, Mr. Nandlall announced that the move is to deter criminal activities and also forms part of Government’s broader crime fighting method.

“We are working on a number of high profile forfeiture proceedings in which hundreds of millions of dollars of assets will be forfeited, detained, seized and or forfeited and you will noted that all these monies are tainted monies, these are the proceeds of crime and courts have found that they are proceeds of crime and the state is taking it, pursuant to the various provisions of our law and depositing it into our consolidated fund,” the Attorney General stated.

Mr. Nandlall said the state has recently defended and won several forfeiture proceedings in the Courts and said further legislation is being strengthened that would further empower the state to go after proceeds from criminality.

The Attorney General shared that in keeping with modern and new trends, the Government will focus on forfeiture of assets, properties and monies that are tainted by criminality or are considered proceeds of crime.

He said the view that law enforcement agencies or the state cannot take ‘sanction money’ or money that represents the proceeds of crime is misplaced, adding that one of the important functions of the state is to seize property believed to have been acquired through criminal means.

“The state will take every single sanctioned cent when the occasion arises don’t worry, every single sanction cent, everything will happen in its time, we are dealing with one aspect of the legal proceedings. As I have said that the arms of the law are long, the processed maybe slow but they are very sure,” Mr. Nandlall stated.

Further, Mr. Nandlall said the Government is working with several Regional agencies like the RSS, the CFATF and international agencies such as the Drug enforcement agency and Interpol in information sharing as well as offer assistance to coordinate and collaborate in efforts to go after assets of criminals.

“We share information and offer mutual assistance on criminal matters using a particular common international platform to coordinate and collaborate in efforts to go after the assets of the criminals because that is now the identified new approach to crime fighting and we have begun that process in Guyana earnestly,” Mr. Nandlall said.

The Attorney General did not indicate when the seizures would begin.

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