FATF/ICRG team in Guyana to conduct on site inspections

Sep 14, 2016 News

-banks, money transfer agencies among financial units to be targeted

The high level meetings between Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, and the Financial Action Task Force/International Coordinating Review Group (FATF/ICRG) are slated to commence today,

Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams

at the boardroom of the Ministry of Legal Affairs.
According to reports from the Ministry of Legal Affairs, yesterday, the team is said to be visiting Guyana over two days from September 14 to conduct a meeting with the Attorney General and his AML/CFT Compliance Team.
During the visit, the team is expected to visit the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Bank of Guyana, Guyana Securities Council (GSC), money transfer agencies and the commercial banks.
Among the things that they will be looking for is to ensure that Guyana is criminalizing money laundering and terrorist financing; that Guyana has adequate measures to confiscate assets related to money laundering and that the country has the legal framework to identify, trace and freeze terrorist assets.
Last July, Minister Williams announced that FATF/ICRG team will be conducting onsite inspections of several of Guyana’s institutions in order to verify Guyana’s progress and its readiness to come off of its watch list.
Williams had explained that a favorable report from the team will allow Guyana to begin the process of removing itself from the FATF/ICRG review list, at the October plenary meeting.
He noted that the team will also be ensuring that the FIU is functioning effectively. The FIU is supposed to oversee SOCU. Other reforms which the onsite visits will seek to confirm is that there is enhanced transparency with these financial systems and that the mechanisms for reporting suspicious transactions are in place.
Finally, the team will seek to ensure that there is an adequate supervisory framework.
”Once the FATF/ICRG co-chairs conclude that Guyana has satisfied its on site verification, then a motion will have to be moved in the October Plenary, to remove Guyana from the FATF/ICRG review list.
”On being removed from the said list, Guyana will thereupon qualify to exit the CFATF follow up process.”
Williams had stressed, however, the country had made significant strides and had been commended at the June 59th ninth plenary meeting which was held in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Williams, who attended the meeting, stated that the country was commended for having substantially completed its action plan at the technical level and that it received thumbs up on its “Tenth follow up report.”
”Guyana has substantially completed its overall level of compliance and most importantly, Guyana has fully addressed the core and key recommendations,” Williams reported.
”While Guyana satisfies the criteria for application to exit the follow up process, it is still in the FATF/ICRG process which it needs to complete first.”
”It is recommended that Guyana stay in enhanced follow up and be required to report on continuing implementation to the next plenary in November.”
Since the coalition came into office last year, FATF has been giving favourable reviews to Guyana on its efforts to address anti-money laundering deficiencies. Last December, Government passed the Anti- Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill of 2015.
The passage of this legislation was seen and noted as a major step, in particular by the Americas Region Review Group (ARRG), the regional arm of the ICRG.