Anti Money Laundering

legislation…‘Some outrageous powers

recommended were reduced’ –

Nandlall

Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall in a telephone interview with Kaieteur News has stated that the “outrageous powers” which the leader of A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) said is given to Ministers, are the same powers that all other Ministers throughout the Caribbean have. The “powers” were handed down by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).

Attorney General Anil Nandlall

APNU’s Leader David Granger stated recently that proposals put forward by Government in the current Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill (AMLCFT), are dangerous in that they place enormous enforcement powers on the Ministers of Finance and Legal Affairs; responsibilities which should be with institutions such as the Guyana Police Force. Granger said, “The Minister can have you arrested, the Minister can have your house searched.” But last night, Nandlall said that no member of the executive coulds have those powers. He said that he Minister of Finance can appoint the head of the Financial Intelligence Unit and other officers but he has no power to actor intervene. According to the AG, the Executive officers mentioned in the Bill and the powers which are reposed in those officers; namely the Finance Minister and Attorney General are “very similar to the powers which those Ministers enjoy in every country in the Caribbean where the Bill has been enacted and it has been enacted in every English speaking country.” Nandlall said that those powers were contained in recommendations which were handed down to Guyana by CFATF to implement and were not “manufactured or concocted or conferred” at the instance of the Government of Guyana. “As I indicated before, the Bill has already been approved as meeting international standards. Granger should write to the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force and the Financial Action Task Force [FATF] and inform them that he believes that their recommendations are too oppressive and confers too much power.” The Legal Affairs Minister further stressed that he has greatly refined some of those recommendations with the intention of limiting the powers residing in the officers mentioned. “I did so because I felt uncomfortable in residing such plenitudes and amplitudes of powers in the Executive,” said Nandlall. In providing an example, Nandlall outlined that the original recommendation from CFATF stipulated that the AG must be able to instruct a commercial bank to freeze any account which the AG reasonably suspects to contain proceeds of crime. “I refused to put that recommendation in the Bill because I feel that no member of the Executive should wield such exceptional power over the citizenry. “I modified that to say that the Attorney General may approach a Judge ex parte seeking an order form the Judge to freeze that account and must satisfy to that Judge that he has reasonable ground to believe that the account in question contains proceeds of crime. “This is because I feel that if any institution should have that type of unusual power it must be the Judiciary.” According to the Legal Affairs Minister, that is one of several instances where such “reduction of powers or shifting of power away from the Executive” was undertaken. He further stressed that he can produce  the CFATF recommendations and compare it with what is actually in the Bill for verification purposes. Nandlall said that the AMLCFT Bill is not a run of the mill piece of legislation since it deals with exceptional crimes and it has exceptional provisions. He explained that many of the functionaries, not only the Ministers have unusual powers, such as the “Head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Officers of Supervisory Authority and officers of Reporting Entities.” He said that this is the nature of the legislation and that all legislations worldwide have similar provisions. “I reject absolutely any impression which is being conveyed that Ministers arrogated onto themselves powers which they should not have. The bottom line is… I am tired of all the games and excuses and ploys . “It’s either the Opposition is supporting the Bill or they are not supporting the Bill. That’s the bottom line” said the AG. He said that the committee is sitting (over the weekend) and he is hopeful that the Bill will be finished for Monday. “It is left up to the Opposition. If they want to pass the Bill it will be passed, if they don’t want to pass it won’t be passed.” Guyana was blacklisted by CFATF last year for not implementing their recommendations and will be meeting with to be reviewed by FATF on February 14 and February 15 in France to see if Guyana has passed the necessary legislation and made moves to fight money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. Should Guyana not pass the necessary legislation and is found to be further delinquent then FATF will institute a higher tier of blacklisting which would resound sanctions internationally.