ICRG/FATF reviewing Guyana’s compliance initiatives
GINA, GUYANA, Thursday, September 15, 2016
The International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) is in Guyana conducting reviews on the country’s initiatives to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon, during a post-Cabinet briefing today, said that the team “will seek to verify whether Guyana instituted the reforms recommended in the action plan agreed by FATF and the Government of Guyana, as well as to whether the government is resolved politically to sustain those reforms.”
The Financial Action Task Force (FTAF) team visited Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams and his compliance team on Wednesday before visiting several reporting entities.
In August, Minister Williams and his compliance team completed sensitisation meetings with reporting entities ahead of this visit. The compliance team met with banks, money transfer agencies and cambio dealers to sensitise them on the Anti-Money Laundering and Counterfeiting the Financing of Terrorism (amended) legislation.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams
The FATF/ICRG team will be conducting inspections at these reporting entities and supervisory authorities to verify that implementation of seven AML/CFT reforms have begun and are being sustained.
The results of this onsite visit will be placed on the agenda of the next FATF plenary which takes place in Paris, France in October 2016. A successful visit will see a motion being moved at this plenary for Guyana to exit the FATF/ICRG’s review list.
Once Guyana receives clearance from the FATF list, it should be atomically cleared for removal from the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFTA).
Removal from the FATF’s review list means a “clean bill of health” for Guyana in relation to organisations’ compliance in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
More importantly, the international financial community would be assured that Guyana’s financial agencies were safe to do business with, the Minister of Legal Affairs had stated.