The Guyana team at the session – Stabroek News.
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.
