The Financial Intelligence Unit presents its LOGO COMPETITION

Help us design a logo for the FIU!

Entry Requirements

• Guyanese between 18 years and over.
• No employees of the FIU or their immediate relatives.

Conditions/Rules to enter FIU Guyana Logo Competition:

• All entries must be submitted electronically to info@fiu.gov.gy (Email subject: FIU Guyana Logo Design Entry).
• State participant’s full name, address, telephone number(s), email address.
• Provide an explanation/ rationale behind the design – Word Limit – 200)
• The logo must seek to capture the Financial Intelligence Unit and its mandate. Information on the Unit can be obtained from its website: fig.gov.gy.
• Participants must submit an original design – cannot be the replica of an existing logo.
• The logo should be submitted as a JPEG, PNG, or PDF file. It should be HD and no smaller than 3500×3500 pixels with a resolution of 300 dpi.
• Participants are allowed to include national symbols and/ or colors in developing their design.
• Submissions should be creative, visually appealing and an appropriate brand representation of the organization.
• By submitting an entry, participants allow the FIU to use, modify, and reproduce the winning design for promotional and branding purposes.
• The winning participant agrees to transfer ownership of the original design to the Financial Intelligence Unit.
• The attachment size limit is 35MB.
• Only one entry per person will be allowed.
• Entries that violate copyright laws, contain inappropriate content or do not adhere to these conditions/rules will be disqualified.

Prize:

• The winning entries will be determined by the Financial Intelligence Unit.
• The winner will be notified via email and/ or on the FIU Website on December 13, 2024. This will be followed by a formal presentation of prizes.
• The winners will be provided with the following prizes:
• 1^st Prize – G$100,000.
• 2^nd Prize – G$60,000.
• 3^rd Prize – G$40,000.

Entries should be addressed to the:

Director, Financial Intelligence Unit

49 Main & Urquhart Streets

Georgetown – Ministry of Finance Compound

or electronically at info@fiu.gov.gy

CLOSING DATE: Midnight of November 29, 2024

The post The Financial Intelligence Unit presents its LOGO COMPETITION appeared first on Finance Intelligent Unit (Guyana).

A key anti-money laundering report from Guyana was adopted at the Caribbean Financial Action
Task Force’s (CFATF) 58th Plenary and Working Group Meetings earlier this month in Trinidad and
Tobago.

The meeting was held from June 2nd to 7th. This Mutual Evaluation Exercise consisted of a
comprehensive examination of the country’s Anti-Money Laundering/ Countering the Financing of
Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, including a two-week on-site examination which took place in
September, 2023, a release from the Attorney General’s Chambers said.
The release said that the Draft Report was adopted after intense scrutiny and discussions at the
Plenary which consisted of over 200 high-level officials from across the Caribbean, Canada, United
Kingdom, United States, Organisation of the American States (OAS), International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
“The Assessment is a peer review process where experts from CFATF and FATF jurisdictions assess
national measures implemented which are designed to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute
money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing, including the forfeiture of criminal
instrumentalities and proceeds and assets derived from crime. At this face-to-face interrogative
peer review engagement Guyana successfully withstood scrutiny and was able to defend the
favourable assessment it received”, the release said.
The adopted Draft Report will now undergo a quality and consistency process with the FATF and the
Global Network, prior to its publication later this year. Whilst the ratings remain confidential until the
conclusion of the process, the release said that Guyana has provisionally gained good ratings in light
of its national coordination mechanisms, the understanding of its risk and context and the
operations of its Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
Guyana has also demonstrated that it has mechanisms for effective supervision, and preventative
measures to enable authorities to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, the release
noted.
The legislative agenda to reform the AML/CFT framework was successful, with Guyana provisionally
having 88% of the Recommendations being rated Compliant or Largely Compliant, with 12% rated
Partially Compliant. In none of the areas in which Guyana was examined was there any provisional
rating as non-compliant.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC who led the delegation assured the
Plenary that Guyana recognises the need to continue to invest in law enforcement authorities to
ensure that the ability to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing
remains “paramount” and gains further tangible results.
Guyana will report back to the CFATF in November 2025 on its Follow Up Actions based on the final
published Report.
The Guyana delegation included officials from the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of
Legal Affairs, the Bank of Guyana, the FIU, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Guyana Geology
and Mines Commission, the Guyana Gold Board, the Special Organised Crime Unit, the Guyana
Securities Council, the Treaty Office of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Guyana Revenue Authority,
the Gaming Authority and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The post Stabroek News – Guyana successfully defended anti-money laundering ratings at CFATF -AG’s Chambers appeared first on Finance Intelligent Unit (Guyana).

Guyana is now a member of the Egmont Group, an international association comprising Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) from around the world that, among other things, facilitates intelligence exchange and cooperation on money laundering.

This was revealed in a statement from the Attorney General Chambers and Legal Affairs Ministry on Saturday.
“On February 1, 2024, Guyana’s Financial Intelligence Unit’s application for membership of the Egmont Group or International Association of Financial Intelligence Units was granted at the organisation’s recent meeting in Malta,” the missive stated.
In addition to Guyana, the FIUs of Oman, Kenya, and Timor-Leste were also inducted into the association.
Consequently, the Egmont Group now has 174 countries that can cooperate via a secure web portal to exchange intelligence on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) matters.

There has been talk of Guyana joining the group for years, but the application to join the organisation was only submitted in 2023.
At the Egmont Group’s recent meeting in Malta, Guyana was represented by the Director of the local Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Matthew Langevine.
Guyana’s application was sponsored by the FIUs of Trinidad and Tobago and the British Virgin Islands and was supported by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).
Since taking office in 2020, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has made significant progress in its anti-corruption efforts. To this end, it has implemented robust measures to strengthen its anti-corruption framework including improving its AML/CFT architecture.
A delegation from the FIUs of Trinidad and Tobago and the British Virgin Islands visited Guyana in April of last year, during which they were updated on the various pieces of legislation currently in draft to strengthen and update Guyana’s AML/CFT regime and to meet the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) international standards.
These include key amendments to the principal AML/CFT Act, a Bill to create an omnibus agency as a supervisory authority for unsupervised entities, and the Real Estate Bill that was passed last August, to provide the regulatory framework for real estate agents and developers.

In September 2023, Guyana underwent an onsite evaluation and examination of its financial sector by CFATF. A critical element of Guyana’s fourth round of mutual evaluation was the enactment of the Real Estate Bill. The draft Real Estate Agents & Brokers Bill was prepared in consultation with the various stakeholders in the local real estate industry and was published for public feedback, before its passage in the National Assembly in August.
Another initiative aimed at addressing the gaps in Guyana’s financial sector in accordance with the AML/CFT stipulations was the establishment of a Compliance Commission, that will supervise the operations of agencies and/or sectors in the country that do not have a direct regulatory body. The Compliance Commission Bill 2023 was also passed.
Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC, had disclosed during his 2024 Budget debate presentation last month that the CFATF review was successful.
The Government’s anti-money laundering strategies are laid out in its five-year plan, which was released by the Attorney General’s Chambers last year. According to the strategy, laws and regulations will be developed and revised during that time in line with international standards.

While there are existing AML/CFT laws, more can be done to strengthen or clarify the legislative framework, to better aid Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) to carry out their duties. The deadline given to complete the updates and revisions to this legal framework is the fourth quarter of 2025.

The post FIU GUYANA JOINS EGMONT GROUP appeared first on Finance Intelligent Unit (Guyana).

The delegation includes, Dr. Gobind Ganga, Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Matthew Langevine, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Ms. Alicia Williams Head of Compliance -FIU, Mr. Karim Baksh – Head of the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU), Ms. Natasha Backer – Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions and Mr. Rommel St Hill, Anti Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Officer in the Attorney General’s Office.

Due to the Covid 19 pandemic this is the first Plenary and Working Group meetings by this body since November 2019. The Plenary which opens on Wednesday November 30, 2022, will follow the working group meetings such as the Heads of FIU forum, a working group of FATF issues, International Cooperation Review Group, Steering Group, and CFATF Risks Trends and Methods Group.

At these meetings, countries who are in the assessment process get the opportunity to discuss key issues identified in their Draft Mutual Evaluation Report; countries that have already been assessed under the fourth-round process provide updates on progress made since their evaluation; delegates are provided updates on outcomes for the FATF various meetings, and on new and emerging money laundering threats in the region.

These meetings also provide opportunities for member states to discuss the implementation of new recommendations and strategies and difficulties that may arise in relation thereto. Cooperation and the building of institutional relationships for exchange of information that may assist in new or ongoing investigations are enhanced. Guyana’s attendance at these meetings is very important, especially as the country prepares for its fourth-round mutual evaluation which is scheduled for 2023. It gives the delegates the opportunity to benefit from the discussions of the mutual evaluation of two of its close neighbors, Suriname and Venezuela whose Reports are currently being discussed and will be featured prominently at the Plenary. Both countries have been flagged with various identified deficiencies.

The post Attorney General Heads Guyana’s AML/CFT Team to CFATF appeared first on Finance Intelligent Unit (Guyana).

The post Over 180 suspicious transactions reported to FIU for 2021 appeared first on Finance Intelligent Unit (Guyana).

Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Mr. Matthew Langevine says the entity has received over 75 reports of “romance scams” where women were cheated out of millions of dollars through social media and dating sites.

Speaking with DPI on Thursday, the FIU Head cautioned Guyanese women to be wary of falling prey to fraud. He said women have become the main targets of the scams, which have increased since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

“There was a very interesting one that happened recently. A young lady met a gentleman online, and after a few weeks, he offered to send a package to her. She was contacted, and was advised by a local representative that the package had arrived,” Mr. Langevine said.

He said the woman was instructed to pay some “duties” to a local bank account. She was reportedly contacted another time and was told that the value of the package was high and she needed make a second payment in excess of US$400.

The FIU Director said the woman was told that because customs had checked the package and found US$35,000 cash, she had to make another payment. He said she was warned that if she refused, she would be charged.  The woman reportedly managed to gather US$7,500 and made the payment.

“So, they give you all kinds of reasons why you need to make these payments, and some persons, out of fear or out of the desire to benefit from these promises, would go all out to make these payments and eventually, until the end, they will realise that they’re scammed.

What happens in the end is that once these payments are made, you lose contact with the individual. The number that you would have been making contact with them on, it’s suddenly disconnected. You’re unable to make contact and your losses become evident,” he explained.

Asked whether lost funds were recovered, Mr. Langevine said there are no such cases. He said it is unfortunate since the country is also struggling with the pandemic, which has lessened persons income.

The FIU issued the warning today after recording a sustained uptick in cases of persons tricked into giving away millions of dollars through banks and other financial institutions.

Mr. Langevine said the COVID-19 pandemic has seen more persons staying at home for longer periods. This has led to more virtual relationships with fraudsters taking advantage of the victim’s trust.

The FIU has concluded that typical romance scams are operated by local and foreign collaborators. To this end, the unit has been collaborating with similar agencies across the Region to address the issue. Mr. Langevine said banks and money transfer agencies are also key collaborators in the fight against these types of financial crimes. The Unit is working with them to ensure the staff can detect and prevent financial scams.

It is also collaborating with the Special Organised Crime Unit to ensure cases are properly investigated.

The FIU has published a typology on its website fiu.gov.gy where persons can acquaint themselves with characteristics of financial scams and how they can be avoided.

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