Reporting entities are required to submit three types of reports to the FIU in such manner and form as specified by the Director of the FIU. These reports are as follows:
TTRs are reports of transactions conducted by customers of reporting entities that meet pre- determined limits/ thresholds. For example, any cash (or non-cash in some specific instances) transaction facilitated by a reporting entity for a customer (single or accumulated) within a month that meets the following threshold limit:
| Reporting Entity/Competent Authority | Type of Threshold Reports | Threshold Limits |
|
Betting Shops |
Betting Shop Threshold Report |
Bets and winnings for single transactions equal to and above G$500,000. |
|
Dealers in Foreign Currency (Cambio Dealers including Commercial Banks) |
Cambio Transactions Report |
Purchases of foreign currencies for single transactions equivalent to or above G$400,000. Sales of foreign currencies for single transactions equivalent to or above G$1,000,000. |
|
Casinos |
Casino Threshold Report |
Purchases and redemptions of chips, tokens and other gaming instruments for single transactions equal to and above G$500,000. |
|
Credit Unions |
Credit Unions Threshold Report | Deposits and disbursements for single transactions equal to and above G$500,000. |
|
Guyana Revenue Authority
|
Currency Declarations |
Declaration of International Transportation of Currency by any person who enters or leaves Guyana with foreign currency equivalent to or above US$10,000. |
| Dealers in Precious and Semi-Precious Stones – Diamond Dealers |
Dealers in Precious and Semi-Precious Stones Threshold Report |
Purchases for single transactions equal to and above G$2,000,000. |
| Dealers in Precious Metals – Gold Dealers/Guyana Gold Board |
Gold Dealers Threshold Report |
Purchases for single transactions equal to and above G$2,000,000. |
| Insurance Companies and Brokers | Insurance Companies & Brokers Threshold Reports |
Claims & Loans for single disbursements equal to and above G$2,000,000. Payments for single transactions equal to and above G$2,000,000 |
| Banks and Non-Bank Licensed Financial Institutions | Large Cash Threshold Report (Bank and Non-Bank LFIs) |
Cash deposits for single transactions equivalent to or above G$2,000,000. |
| Guyana Lottery Company | Lottery Threshold Transaction Report |
Winnings for single transactions equal to and above G$500,000. |
| Money Transfer Agencies including Commercial Banks | Money Transfers Report |
Incoming and outgoing money transfers for single transactions equivalent to or above G$200,000. |
| Pawnbrokers | Pawnbrokers Threshold Report |
Pledges and repayments for single transactions equivalent to or above G$300,000. |
| Real Estate Agents |
Real Estate Agents’ Threshold Report |
Agreements equal to and above G$2,000,000. |
| Securities Companies | Securities Companies Threshold Report |
Purchases and Sales of Shares for single transactions equal to and above G$2,000,000. |
| Auto Dealers | Auto Dealers Threshold Report |
Local purchases/trade-ins and sales for single transactions equal to and above G$2,000,000. |
TTRs are due by the 7th of each month following the month in which the transaction(s) occurred and should be reported in such manner or format prescribed by the Director of the FIU.
The following categories of reporting entities have been exempted by the FIU from the submission of threshold transactions:
A STR is a report which reporting entities are required to submit to the FIU, whenever they suspect or have reasonable grounds to suspect that funds or a transaction (attempted or completed) are connected to the proceeds of a criminal activity, money laundering, terrorism or terrorist financing offences.
As a general principle, any transaction that causes a reporting entity to have a feeling of apprehension or mistrust, should be considered for being submitted to the FIU as a suspicious transaction.
Identifying suspicious transaction
Suspicious transactions are likely to involve a number of factors which together raise a suspicion in the mind of the officer of the reporting entity that the transaction may be connected to money laundering, terrorist financing or the proceeds of a crime.
The factors that should be considered in assessing whether or not a transaction is suspicious include – complex, unusual large business transactions, and unusual patterns of transactions, whether completed or not, that have no apparent economic or lawful purpose and are inconsistent with the profiles of the person or persons carrying out the transactions.
Reporting entities can seek guidance as to what could constitute an STR from the list of indicators provided in the Annex. Note that this list of indicators is for guidance only. Further guidance may be obtained from typologies and case studies provided in the typology reports produced and circulated by the FIU.
What is a suspicious transaction? This will ultimately be determined by the reporting entity’s knowledge of its customers, their business, and the historical pattern of transactions.
What to report
An STR submitted to FIU must contain:
Describe
Explain
Indicate
When to report
Once a suspicion is formed, a reporting entity must as soon as practicable, but no later than three days after forming a suspicion, report the transaction to the FIU. In practice, where account monitoring processes identify a transaction, the three-day requirement does not commence until a suspicion based on reasonable grounds is formed. Reasonable grounds may not exist until a member of your staff has had time to consider the transaction in light of the surrounding circumstances or new information is obtained. Once the requisite suspicion is formed, the three-day requirement commences.
After an initial STR has been submitted, a reporting entity may continue to conduct business with the customer. However, they must comply with all relevant provisions of the AML/CFT legislation, including the requirement to submit additional information on the customer where appropriate.
IMPORTANT: The requirement to report STRs applies to completed or attempted transactions and there are no monetary thresholds for reporting.
The FIU relies on reporting entities to fulfill their obligation to report suspicious transactions/activities. STRs are the main source of information available to the FIU to detect suspected money laundering or predicate/serious offences. An STR can indicate that suspected criminal activity is occurring through a transaction or series of transactions. Reports received by the FIU are analyzed for activities and patterns that may indicate criminal activity. Various resources are used, including partner agencies and open-source databases. Often, additional information is required from reporting entities to help establish whether the suspicious activity reported in an STR merits further investigation. This additional information can be vital in determining whether the suspicion translates into actual criminal activity. Where criminal activity appears to be occurring, cases may be referred to the Special Organised Crime Unit or other relevant law enforcement agency for investigation.
A TPR is a report that a reporting entity must submit to the FIU, whenever it has knowledge that funds or other assets in its possession are for a person or entity that is listed on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Consolidated List or listed or specified by order of the Minister of Finance in accordance with section 2(2) of the AMLCFT Act 2009 and UNSCR 1373 (2001).
A TPR must be submitted immediately (without delay) after the person has been identified as having the beforementioned association.
To determine whether you are in possession of funds or other assets of a listed person or entity, you must first determine whether any of your customer/client is a listed person or entity, and also whether you are dealing with any funds or other assets of that listed person or entity.
Positive name match relating to listings by the Al Qaida 1267(1999) Sanctions Committee or the 1718(2006)/2231(2015) (on DPRK and Iran) Sanctions Committees or Minister of Finance in accordance with UNSCR 1373.
If there is a ‘positive name match’ meaning that the name of the customer/client appears on the UN Consolidated List (UNSCRs 1267, 1718 and 2231), or Local List (UNSCR 1373), a reporting entity must:
This can be done by further checking, in the case of a person, the customer/client’s date of birth, place of birth, nationality, and ID Card/Passport number, and in the case of an entity, the entity’s address and other information, against the information on the UN Consolidated List or Local List. (This will avoid false positive situation where extreme measures may be taken against an innocent person or entity) AND
Terrorist Property Quarterly Report
A reporting entity is also required to submit Quarterly Terrorist Property Report to the FIU whether or not it had dealings with a listed person or entity. [1] Such reports are due as follows:
NOTE:
While the UN Consolidated list contains listings by the Al Qaida 1267(1999) Sanctions Committee or the 1718(2006)/2231(2015) (on DPRK and Iran) Sanctions Committees, it is important to note that the list also contains listings by other Sanctions Committees such as the Sanctions Committee concerning Iraq, the 2127 Committee concerning Central Africa, and the 2374 Sanctions Committee.
Positive name match relating to listings by other Sanctions Committees
If there is a ‘positive name match’ a reporting entity must:
If customer/client’s details match, immediately complete and submit a Suspicious Transaction Report to the FIU.
Maintaining sanctions lists
To determine whether you are in possession or control of funds or other assets of a listed person or entity, you must put in place and implement policies and procedures to-
The UN Consolidated List can be accessed here: https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/un-sc-consolidated-list
Targeted Financial Sanctions (Specified Person/Entity) Order referred to as the “Local List can be accessed HERE: https://fiu.gov.gy/specified-persons/
Conducting screening on customers
A reporting entity must conduct checks on its existing, new and potential customers/clients, via a name-screening and/or internal blacklist database to determine if a customer/client is listed on the UN Consolidated List or the Local List.
A reporting entity must screen its entire customer/client database without delay when informed of new names added to the UN Consolidated List or Local List.
The obligation to conduct screening on customers/clients also includes funds or other assets derived from property owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the listed person or entity. In this regard a reporting entity must conduct checks on-
Reports can be submitted to the FIU electronically (via the FIU’s secured e-reporting platform – CaseKonnect) or on CD/USB hand-delivered. To submit the report electronically, a reporting entity must first be registered on the FIU Electronic Reporting Platform. To register, the reporting entity must send a letter to the FIU requesting authorization. The letter must state the full name, designation, telephone number, and email address of the person to be authorized (e.g. the reporting entity’s compliance officer) and the name and address of the reporting entity.
Paper/CD reports must be submitted to:
Director
Financial Intelligence Unit
c/o Ministry of Finance
Main and Urquhart Streets
Georgetown
After submitting a report, the following chain of activities are executed:
