PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Guyana says it will enact a slew of amendments to its extradition laws which will make it easier for extraditions to take place from and to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC, addressing the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Working Group on FATF IssuesAttorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC, addressing the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Working Group on FATF Issues (WGFI) here on Tuesday, said that the Irfaan Ali government is hoping to by next week to enact the legislation, which he said would also be helpful in the extradition of people to and from the United States.
“We have also made great improvements in the fields of combating proliferation financing and terrorism financing (AML/CFT), as well as having a well-functioning international cooperation regime, particularly through our Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Our FIU is now a member of the Egmont Group,” Nandlall told the CFATF 58th Plenary and Working Group Meetings.
He told the meeting that the mutual evaluation process is an involved one, tedious and requires much focus and dedication and that Guyana has completed a number of risk assessments, of which coordinated actions and responses have followed.
“These include a legislative agenda that sought to achieve ratings of at least largely compliant in all of the 40 Recommendations, and use of our national AML/CFT authority to strengthen the capacities of supervisory, competent and law enforcement authorities through technical assistance and training from our international partners.
“Undoubtedly, while we may not have the perfect regime, no one can fault the efforts demonstrably exhibited thus far. This is coupled with a clear and settled will and intent to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing in every sphere of national life,” the Guyana Attorney general said.
He said Guyana has the structural underpinnings, tools and actions to illustrate that in most areas, “we have achieved at least moderate to substantial ratings of effectiveness, with only major or moderate improvements needed, based on the Assessment Team’s findings, as well as a horizontal review of other MERs in the FATF and CFATF network.
“We recognise that while the cost of compliance is high, the consequences of not complying is not an option. Resources, though scarce, are adequately budgeted for annually to improve Guyana’s AML/CFT architecture. I pledge our government’s unequivocal and unwavering commitment to this cause.”
Nandlall said that although the Guyanese economy and infrastructure are undergoing transformative changes, he wanted to take the opportunity to remind delegates that not so long ago Guyana faced tremendous economic challenges.
“Additionally, while we have the largest landmass in the Caribbean region, we are one of the most underpopulated nation per capita in the context of South America and beyond with a population of just 800,000 persons.”
He said Guyana is currently confronting an existential threat from its western neighbour Venezuela, which is claiming two-thirds of Guyana’s sovereign territory.
“Guyana has had to deal with bellicose threats of territorial invasions and a purported legal annexation of two-thirds of its territory by Venezuela. The matter is currently at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).’
Nandlall said that the CARICOM country is still primarily a cash based society and is not an offshore and company formation jurisdiction.
He said legal formations such as trusts, for example, have never and still do not form part of Guyana’s legal and/or commercial architecture.
“It is not surprising therefore, that trusts make up less than four per cent of legal persons or arrangements in Guyana,” he said, telling the meeting that currently, work is ongoing on a modern trust legislation which will be enacted shortly.
“It would be the first of its kind in Guyana. Another unique issue in Guyana is the use of co-operatives as a form of legal arrangements. These are legal entities, created by statute, enacted over six decades ago with a view of assisting small peasant farmers to engage in communal agricultural pursuits.
“The main assets of these organisations consist of State lands which these co-op hold by leases. The statutory regulatory framework requires these entities to comply with the governing legislation and to file annual returns.
“Expectedly, most of them are in default. In our view, they pose no AML/CFT risk whatsoever but they fell to be considered for the assessment,” he added.
