Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) National Risk Assessment (NRA) Seminar

Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF)

National Risk Assessment (NRA) Seminar

The Anti-money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/PF) National Coordination Committee (NCC), will be hosting a Seminar on Thursday, December 19, 2019, at the Pegasus Hotel, Georgetown and commences at 8:30 am.

The purpose of this seminar is to commence Guyana’s second Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) National Risk Assessment (NRA). Over one hundred persons including Ministers of Government, Heads of Private Sector Agencies, Heads of Government Organisations, and members of the Diplomatic Corps are expected to attend.

The NRA exercise will be conducted by a working group of seventy-five persons representing over forty public and private sector organisations in Guyana.  The exercise is in keeping with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 1 that requires countries to assess their risks, apply a risk-based approach and put measures in place to mitigate identified risks on an ongoing basis. The new NRA exercise is well-timed, as Guyana is preparing for its Fourth Round Mutual Evaluation by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023.

The World Bank will once again be providing Guyana with technical assistance and guidance to conduct the NRA. This will allow Guyana to identify any new or emerging money laundering or terrorist financing risks, threats or vulnerabilities.  The new NRA will also take into account an assessment of the ML/TF risks associated with the oil and gas sector, proliferation financing, virtual assets and illegal wildlife trade. This exercise will allow the country to appropriately address its vulnerabilities and threats ahead of its scheduled mutual evaluation.