Reporting Entities

WHO IS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY REPORTS (SAR)?

All Reporting entities are required under the AMLCFTA and Regulations to submit SARs to the Financial Intelligence Unit.

WHO IS A REPORTING ENTITY?

A reporting entity is any business or person whose regular occupation is the carrying on of:
(a) Any activity listed in the First Schedule. These are:

• Attorneys-at- law, notaries, other independent legal professionals, and accountants when they prepare for or carry out transactions for their client relating to the following activities:
  • buying and selling of real estate;
  • managing of client money, securities or other assets;
  • management of bank, savings or securities accounts;
  • organization of contributions for the creation, operation or management of companies; or
  • creation, operation or management of legal persons or arrangements, and buying and selling of business entities;
• A trust or company service provider not otherwise covered by this definition, which as a business, provides any of the following services to third parties as covered under the law relating to Trusts under the Civil Law of Guyana Act
  • acting as a formation agent of legal persons;
  • acting as (or arranging for another person to act as) a director or secretary of a company, a partner of a partnership, or a similar position in relation to other legal persons;
  • providing a registered office; business address or accommodation, correspondence or administrative address for a company, a partnership or any other legal person or arrangement;
  • acting as (or arranging for another person to act as) a trustee of an express trust;
  • acting as (or arranging for another person to act as) a nominee shareholder for another person.
• Dealing in real estate when the persons dealing are involved in transactions for their client concerning the buying and selling of real estate.
• Dealing in precious metals or stones – when the persons dealing engages in any cash transaction with a customer equal to or above a threshold as may be prescribed by order of the Minister responsible for Finance.

REPORTING OF SUSPICIOUS BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS BY REPORTING ENTITY

A reporting entity must pay special attention to all complex, unusual or large business transactions, whether completed or not and to all unusual patterns of transactions and to insignificant but periodic transactions which have no apparent economic or lawful purpose.

Upon a reasonable suspicion that the transaction described above may constitute or relate to money laundering, proceeds of crime or terrorist financing, a reporting entity must promptly report the suspicious transaction to the Financial Intelligence Unit.

Where the reporting entity is a money transfer agency, it must report any money transfer over two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000.00).

Where the reporting entity is a cambio it must report any purchase over four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000.00); sale over one million dollars ($1,000,000.00); and any cash transaction over two million dollars ($2,000,000.00).