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APNU to write to CFATF to clarify Hernandez AML comments
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has expressed its intention to clarify definitively if the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Advisor Roger Hernandez did say that APNU’s amendments to the Anti Money Laundering and Countering of Financing Legislation might make the Bill non complaint.
APNU’s Executive Member Joseph Harmon
Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh had said in a public missive that Roger Hernandez, had “stated that APNU’s amendments can render certain areas of the Bill which were already complaint, non-compliant”, a position that was reiterated by the Private Sector.
Speaking on the issues was APNU’s Carl Greendige who said that the meeting with Mr. Hernandez and Parliamentarians never required Mr. Hernandez to look at APNU’s proposals. “We never discussed APNU’s proposals with him.”
He said, “It would’ve been rather foolish to take their word as it regards our proposals, given… the continuing distrust of the articulation of the Opposition’s position by the Attorney General and Ministers of the Government then met us, don’t discuss the proposals with us and then pronounce on those proposals in circumstances where he clearly told us his mandate.”
According to Greenidge, he knew that some of the media houses insisted in their reports that they have recordings that “Mr. Hernandez claimed to have examined the APNU proposals and he claimed that they were risky and a whole set of adjectives used for them.
“I think if that is true it is really unprofessional behavior because if an official has a difficulty with a proposal that has been made, he has to discuss that with us not discuss it as delivered by another advocate in circumstances in which there is great distrust and we will take that up with the CFATF authorities.”
How they intend to do that according to APNU’s Shadow Minister of Public Works and Telecommunications, Joseph Harmon, is by sending a formal letter requesting clarification over the issue.
“To pronounce when you haven’t seen the final draft you haven’t even discussed with the people who are the
CFATF Advisor Roger Hernandez
sponsors of that document, whether in fact this is there document you are pronouncing on, so Mr. Hernandez will have to explain that so we will write to CFATF to get a clarification on it.”
“In the meeting with Mr. Hernandez, he said that he was only here to determine whether the government was compliant or non compliant and he couldn’t comment on anything else. He said further that any independent Parliament can impose higher requirements on any recommendations proposed by CFATF.
“He couldn’t examine when our amendments would have to be submitted in the report to CFATF and when it reaches CFATF, only then CFATF could look at them to see whether the recommendations collide with any of the recommendations that they imposed.”
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