Georgetown, Nov 28.- The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) expressed its concern today regarding Guyana's deficiencies in addressing money-laundering according to the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF)'' s recommendations, local sources said today.
In a communique issued by the regional body, all 15 member states stated that they were 'deeply concerned about the impact that any adverse action" by CFATF could have on "the Guyanese economy, and by extension the CARICOM Region as a whole, particularly in the areas of trade and financial services."
The text adds that any action that reduces the ease of processing international financial or trade transactions or increases their cost will adversely affect trade and financial flows in the Region, retard the regional integration enterprise and reverse the gains made by Guyana and the region.
CARICOM notes that this could also directly and severely hinder the functioning of the Secretariat of the organization, based in Guyana.
However, the group's leaders acknowledged the efforts made by the Government of Guyana to implement the said recommendations.
During the recent CFATF's plenary, carried out this month in Freeport, Bahamas, this group adopted an unprecedented measure, consisting of the issuance of a public statement calling on Guyana, Belize and the Dominican Republic to resolve their deficient measures against money-laundering, under penalty of being subject to countermeasures, as well as to a blacklist for countries who fail to comply with anti-money laundering mechanisms and who may be financing terrorism.
Guyana did not meet the deadline set by CFATF to modify its law against money-laundering, therefore it now faces the previously announced countermeasures.(Prensa Latina)