Nandlall says Guyana is still struggling with CFATF/ FATF sanctions

Sep 18, 2017 News

– but PSC Chairman says ‘legitimate Businesses’ not being affected

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell

Former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall says that failure by his successor, Basil Williams, to effectively lobby the removal of sanctions that were imposed by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) has left Guyana in a proverbial pickle.
Nandlall told this newspaper that though Guyana has been able to pass the requisite outstanding pieces of legislation and bring itself into conformity, the sanctions which have been imposed prior to the passing of those bills still exist. He said that those sanctions are still haunting businessmen and other citizens.
“If you speak to the banking sector and you speak to the businessmen who are interacting with the banking sector, they will tell you that nothing has changed since 2015,” said Nandlall.
He posited that these sanctions remain because Williams has neglected to ensure that the sanctions were dismantled. “So we still have very oppressive and onerous requirements at the level of the commercial banks when we do transactions individually and as corporate citizens.”
Nandlall said that the remaining sanctions are a strain on the business community. “It is causing undue hardship and delay in the processing of transactions.”
The former Attorney General, under whom the sanctions were imposed, said that even the opening of a bank account has become very difficult.
“To get a bank account opened in the name of a company is a nightmare in Guyana because of the amount of information that has to be provided in the name of those who own the company. I am telling you that all of these are requirements that have been imposed upon us when we were sanctioned and that regime of punitive requirements has not been removed.”
Nandlall also noted that while Guyana passed the anti-money laundering legislations in 2015, “subsequent to that, (in 2016) we lost corresponding banking relations with important banks. Bank of America pulled out of Guyana and we need to ask ourselves, “Why?” It is because those who are responsible for the sector are not effectively lobbying for the dismantling of these sanctions.”

President of the PSC, Eddie Boyer

Former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall

However, the pressure that Nandlall spoke of does not appear to be affecting businesses that are part of the Private Sector Commission (PSC).
Business owners in that body have not reported such hardships to President of the Commission, Eddie Boyer.
Boyer told Kaieteur News, “Legitimate businesses are not are not having a difficulty. Obviously, if you have your invoices and other documentation you shouldn’t have a problem.”
When referenced to Nandlall comments, Boyer was careful not to totally challenge the politician but said that he is not in a position to give credence to the statements. “Obviously he (Nandlall) knows something [that] I do not know, so I do not want to deny him. Maybe other people are complaining to him that they are having difficulty but as far as the Private Sector Commission is concerned, we have had no complaints about troubles with transactions that are legitimate; there have been no reports, nobody is telling us anything.”
Boyer noted that the case may be different with smaller businesses; that may not have all the relevant documentations that are required.
He explained too that “there is a clearance through the federal system in the United States and that takes time. So that could be what he (Nandlall) is talking about. But there has been no complaint to the Commission about a strain being placed on legitimate business but we represent the larger businesses in Guyana, so I cannot fully speak for small businesses.”

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One thought on “Nandlall says Guyana is still struggling with CFATF/ FATF sanctions”

Janet James September 18, 2017 at 6:35 am

Take no notice of Nandlall, he has no principles.

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