After last Monday’s meeting… : Granger agrees to ensure AML/CFT Bill is passed : …before FATF meeting

PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar and Leader of the Opposition, Brigadier (ret’d) David Granger, at their meeting last Monday, agreed to ensure that the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill is passed by the National Assembly before the meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) later this month.This was according to the Head of State, at a news conference yesterday at State House, where he underscored the fact that Guyana’s deficiencies in the AML/CFT framework are 90 per cent legislative, as indicated by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).

CFATF, on May 28, pronounced on Guyana’s failure to address deficiencies in Guyana’s AML/CFT framework and through a missive to its members, counter-measures against Guyana were advised, effectively blacklisting the country on the international scene. The regional watchdog body also recommended Guyana to FATF for review.
The President added that the Government will remain engaged with both CFATF and FATF and will continue to do so moving forward

UNIQUE CASE:
However, he noted that the case of Guyana’s effective international blacklisting is a “unique” case, given that the Government is willing to have the legislation enacted, but the support of the political Opposition in this process is not forthcoming.

Mr. Ramotar referenced the cases in Trinidad and Tobago, and more recently in Belize, where the political parties in the two countries recognised what was at stake if their countries were blacklisted.
“In Trinidad the Parliament was called out of recess,” he said.
Trinidad and Tobago was saved from being blacklisted after it made moves to ensure that it was removed from the enhanced monitoring list in February 2012 after assessment by FATF’s ICRG.

On the other hand, last year, Belize parliamentarians gave rare bipartisan support to a raft of legislation in the National Assembly, as the country moved to avert major financial sanctions. The country passed several bills to avert the dreaded financial sanctions, including: the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2014; the Domestic Banks and Financial Institutions (Amendment) Bill, 2014; the Financial Intelligence Unit (Amendment) Bill, 2014; the Money Laundering and Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Bill, 2014; and the Mutual Legal Assistance and International Co-Operation Bill, 2014. They were approved by the House and Senate and signed by Governor-General, Sir Colville Young.

The Head of State appealed for a sense of patriotism to prevail to ensure the passage of the Bills, a move that will ensure that people and country are put above “narrow” political agendas.
“This Bill is very important,” he stressed.
Unlike the two more recent examples in the Caribbean, Guyana’s AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill, to meet CFATF’s requirements, was tabled in the National Assembly in April 2013, but referred to a Parliamentary Special Select Committee and was eventually voted down by the joint Opposition in November 2013. The bill was re-tabled December 2013 and again referred to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee, where it has been since.

LINKAGES REJECTED:
President Ramotar bemoaned the linkages sought by the combined Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC).

APNU and the AFC are still calling for certain conditions to be met before they do so, with the exception of the AFC relaxing its demands a trifle.
APNU, for instance, has proposed three amendments, but given that the APNU’s proposals were viewed as problematic, the Attorney General, on behalf of the Government, earlier last month offered them counter-proposals, in the interest of ensuring that the amendments made are CFATF-compliant. These counter-proposals are being considered by the

Parliamentary Select Committee, which has been reviewing the AML/CFT Bill, which held its most recent meeting on May 22, 2014. The APNU maintains its position on conditional support for the Bill.
On the other hand, the AFC, which is fully behind APNU’s position, is demanding the establishment of the PPC (Public Procurement Commission), which the government has agreed to, providing that Cabinet retains its no-objection role in the process; but the latter position has been rejected by the AFC. However, on May 29, after the announcement by CFATF, the AFC, in a statement, noted that it is now willing to budge on its position and support Cabinet’s retention of its no-objection role.

The Head of State questioned why Guyana’s political leaders would expose Guyana and its people to the hardships that come with international blacklisting, particularly when the country is already feeling the impacts of being regionally blacklisted by CFATF last November.
“This is beyond me,” he said.

Mr. Ramotar likened Guyana’s current state of affairs to a kidnapping, where the Opposition are holding the country at ransom to secure its politically motivated agenda.
The President reiterated his appeal for the Bill to be passed to minimise the consequences blacklisting will have on the nation.
FATF’s next plenary meeting is slated for June 23 to 25, 2014 in Paris, France, at which time the international body is likely to put Guyana up for review by its International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG).
Written By Vanessa Narine