Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 08, 2009 News
Inability to detect dirty money…
“I believe that what we have is not so much an inability to detect and prevent the movement of this money, but, rather, a refusal born out of fear or favour to interfere, as is the case when drugs move freely into and out of Guyana without interference.”
By Gary Eleazar
“As a legislator and member of the special select committee reviewing the new money laundering legislation, I am appalled at this revelation by the Central Bank that there is no way of detecting dirty money in Guyana.”
This comment was made by Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Raphael Trotman, who was responding to a statement made by the Governor of the Central Bank that the financial regulator was unable to detect dirty money — money that has been earned through illegal means and has been subsequently laundered.
Trotman described the declaration as a tremendous cop-out and abdication of responsibility by the regulatory authority of the financial sector.
He posited that, even in the absence of legislation, dirty money is not hard to detect, as most Guyanese have quite easily been able to do over the past decade.
According to Trotman, it is irresponsible for the Government and its regulatory body to just make “a glib statement like this.”
The AFC Leader emphasised that, long before there was legislation, law enforcement agencies had developed means of tracking and seizing money and wealth acquired through illicit means.
He pointed out that the new legislation before the National Assembly is a post 9/11 creation. “But this is not to say that money laundering is a new phenomenon…It has been around for as long as there has been crime and commerce.”
Trotman posited also that, surely, the nation expected that there was, at the minimum, some mechanisms to identify this filthy money, and to at least take steps to stop its movement and infiltration into the economy.
“I believe that what we have is not so much an inability to detect and prevent the movement of this money, but, rather, a refusal born out of fear or favour to interfere, as is the case when drugs move freely into and out of Guyana without interference.”
He pointed out that even, after major drug busts are made abroad, no one is charged and convicted in Guyana.
“This latest revelation exposes the total incompetence vis-a-vis the management of the financial sector and begs the question as to how many hundreds of millions have been passed quite easily through Guyana, and still remains here.”
According to Trotman, the President now has a lot to answer for, and instead of going after select public officials, he has to clean house; first starting with his own management of these matters.
The AFC Leader also stated that, in light of the revelation, “I, and by extension the AFC, have little confidence that, when the new legislation is implemented, the Office of the President will be able to implement, enforce, and manage the new regime competently and fairly.”
He posited that the AFC will be pushing for a greater oversight role by the Parliament, and if the Jagdeo administration is serious about confronting the scourge, then it will not object to an expanded role for the Members of Parliament.
Money laundering is the practice of engaging in financial transactions in order to conceal the source, and/or destination of illegally gained money. It is a main operation of the underground economy.
In the past, the term “money laundering” was applied only to financial transactions related to organised crime; but today its definition is often expanded by Government regulators, such as the United States Office of the Comptroller/Controller of the Currency, to encompass any financial transaction which generates an asset or a value as the result of an illegal act, which may involve actions such as tax evasion or false accounting.
President Jagdeo, in his most recent press briefing, whilst commenting on the scrutiny of the assets of Customs officers implicated in a recent fraud, had mentioned that he has urged the Finance Minister to accelerate the work of the select committee which is currently assessing the piece of legislation.
A select committee takes charge of a bill after it is laid for the first time in the National Assembly.
The committee then examines the various clauses to ensure that there are no conflicting or contentious issues.
The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill was first laid in the National Assembly in June 2007, and was sent to a special select committee for review before debate.
Now retired Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs Doodnauth Singh presented the bill, which seeks to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and to allow for the civil forfeiture of criminal assets.
The legislation, when enacted, is expected to provide for oversight of export industries, real estate, alternative remittance systems, and other financial institutions.
Among other things, the bill provides that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) may apply to the High Court for a restraining order against any realisable property held by the accused, or specified realisable property held by a person other than the accused, in both money laundering and terrorism cases.
In connection with property that directly or indirectly constitutes proceeds of crime, where the value is not less than two million dollars, the court may make an interim order prohibiting the person from disposing of or diminishing its value during the period of fifty-six days from the date of making the order, the bill outlines.
It seeks to empower a High Court judge to make a restraining order prohibiting the respondent or any other specified person, or any other person having notice of the order, from disposing of the property, unless otherwise instructed.
Of significance, the bill provides that all monies derived from the fulfillment of forfeiture and confiscation orders contemplated in the Act shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
In 2000, Guyana passed the Money Laundering Act, but it was believed to be riddled with loopholes that prevented the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) established under the Act from carrying out its mandate.
Crimes covered by the Money Laundering Prevention Act include narcotics trafficking, illicit trafficking of firearms, extortion, corruption, bribery, fraud, counterfeiting, and forgery. The law also requires that incoming or outgoing funds over US$10,000 be reported.
The new legislation is generally intended to track money transfers and activities of commercial banks and other financial institutions. It will also tackle the financing of terrorist organisations.
It is also slated to complement the work of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which has received major criticisms from the United States since it came into operation in 2003.
A final draft of the legislation was completed, but because it was handed over about two weeks prior to the dissolution of Parliament, in April 2006, the legislation could not have been passed.
The existing Money Laundering Prevention Act of 2000 establishes the Guyana Revenue Authority, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit, the offices of the Attorney General and Director of Public Prosecutions, and the FIU as the authorities responsible for investigating money laundering crimes.
The 2007 US Drug Report on Guyana had noted the scale of money laundering is thought to be large, relative to the size of the economy. Some experts have estimated that the informal economy is 40 to 60 percent of the size of the formal sector.
The report said that investigating and prosecuting money laundering cases is not a priority for law enforcement in Guyana.
According to the report, the lack of adequate legislation and resources has resulted in the Government of Guyana making no arrests or prosecutions for money laundering in 2006.
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