Caricom to discuss AML impasse

Heads of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) are expected to discuss Guyana’s inability to pass the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) 2013 Bill when they continue their intersessional meeting in St Vincent and the Grenadines today.
Legal Affairs Minister and Attorney General Anil Nandlall, who has accompanied President Donald Ramotar to the meeting, made this disclosure. The meeting was scheduled for Monday.  In an earlier press statement, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said in a letter dated March 7, 2014 to President Ramotar, Barbados’ Prime Minister Freundel Stuart expressed concerns over the stalled Bill.
“Without any doubt, this situation and the threatened action by CFATF [Caribbean Financial Action Task Force] will affect Guyana and the entire Caribbean region, and will negatively impact the well-being of our people,” Prime Minister Stuart is quoted as saying in the letter.
He further said: “I trust that during our intersessional meeting, we will be able to discuss this matter in caucus and see what other action we can take as a group to assist Guyana at this juncture.” Caricom is said to be extremely worried about the political stalemate preventing the passage of the bill, as it considers the wider implications.
If blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Guyana could encounter difficulties in accessing funds from international agencies. Additionally financial transactions in general can become a burden, affecting even the man in the street. Last November, Guyana and Belize were placed on the CFATF watchlist, after failing to meet its standards. Guyana was identified as a country with significant strategic deficiencies in its AML/CFT regime.
However, it was given a February 28 deadline to submit a progress report along with the passed AML Amendment Bill; however, the Bill is still at the level of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee. With or without the Bill, the country will be reviewed by CFATF in May where a determination will be made on whether or not it should be subjected to an International Cooperation Review by FATF.