Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 20, 2014 News
– Calls on relevant Ministers to tell the nation which of the military personnel they have appointed to head, customs, key police units etc. have been able to deliver
Gathering evidence on how suspected “local money launderers” make their money now falls under the purview of two important agencies, one of which is the recently established Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU).
This entity will now serve as the investigative arm of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) which will provide sensitive information on suspicious business transactions. This is according to recently-appointed SOCU head, Sydney James.
He had made it clear to the media that SOCU would not be targeting any individual without intelligence provided by the FIU.
But to some politicians, the confidence being entrusted in this partnership raises a lot of questions and does little to mitigate suspicions that the government is not at all serious about addressing money laundering in Guyana. The lack of confidence in the FIU in this regard is premised on several facts, one of the most worrying being that the FIU only submitted one out of 858 reports of suspicious activity to the Director of Public Prosecutions during 2011 and nothing became of that single case either.
The mandate of both the FIU and SOCU is to investigate suspicious transactions based on reports it would receive from the relevant reporting entities. Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall had said that SOCU will serve as the FIU’s analytical arm. The SOCU was conceptualized by Cabinet last year and $63.1 M was later approved for the construction of its headquarters. At this moment, the newly formed entity has no office to even start preliminary administrative work.
However, Carl Greenidge, the financial spokesman of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), believes that “based on the worrying actions of the FIU, it does little to ensure that its partnership with the newly formed SOCU will bring any success. After all, the entity on its own was unable to secure any convictions based on its own work.”
The economist said, “SOCU is supposed to plug a gap in implementation. Money laundering however, is part of a wider operation. If a man sells drugs and uses the proceeds to set up a legitimate business, the Government cannot say that it’s too late to do anything. The Guyana Revenue Authority, for example, has a responsibility to establish or call on a business to show how it came by the income to acquire the net asset it controls,” the politician expressed.
He said too that the regular police services still have to do their jobs of stopping crime including drug operations and murders.
The politician asserted that the FIU is not intended to replace the police force. He said that the government is supposed to ensure that there is a plan and strategy to deal with the complexities of persons like the infamous Roger Khan.
“This is the challenge that the country faces, the Government has legislation which are somewhat ‘robust’. But it is now for them to enforce what is on the statue books and to organize their forces to plug the current loopholes,” the former finance minister expressed.
Greenidge added that slow, piecemeal and ineffectual implementation undermines the utility of the Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act 2009.
He reminded that the Government promised the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force that it would implement everything except the legislation but “we see a combination of lack of energy, lack of imagination and probably lack of interest in ensuring that even within the existing legislation, all that can be done is being done.”
The APNU Parliamentarian said that among the things that can be better done are the appointments to these critical entities. As it relates to SOCU, he said, “What special skills does a soldier bring to money laundering prosecution? Searching for how criminals who hide money in complicated business transactions is not an area in which marksmen or military strategy bring any special skills. He is not in charge of the unit hunting down armed criminals but white collar crime, especially in the area of accounts and Finance,” Greenidge posited.
As the situation now stands, the APNU member said that the FIU and the related organs have so far been found wanting in these areas, because most of them are headed by and recruit key personnel for reasons other than their competence in finance, accounts, computing software, international trade, law and the investigative areas.
He said that Nandlall and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh would be well advised to look at the balance of skills employed in the countries that are most successful in chasing down money laundering and related crime.
Greenidge suggests that if the government is so interested in having these agencies make some significant difference when it comes to apprehending money launderers, they need to pay keen attention to the devices used by the US to bring persons and financial reporting entities to heel.
He reminded that an astonishing portion of the cases of suspicious activity involved no court action. Greenidge then called on the relevant Ministers to tell the nation which of the military personnel they have appointed to head the Customs and Excise department, and key police units etc have actually been able to deliver anything. “This is neither normal police nor intelligence work. I do hope that James has some training in the more relevant areas,” the politician concluded.
Please share this to every Guyanese including your house cats.
Apr 19, 2024
SportsMax – West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews delivered a stellar all-round performance to lead her team to a commanding 113-run victory over Pakistan Women in the first One Day...Kaieteur News – For years, the disciples of Bharrat Jagdeo have woven a narrative of economic success during his tenure... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Waterfalls Magazine – On April 10, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]