International Blacklisting...Opposition concerned but Govt. is ambling - Granger

International Blacklisting…Opposition concerned but Govt. is ambling – Granger

May 28, 2014 News

…APNU writes to CFATF, CARICOM Chair

The Opposition is concerned about Guyana being blacklisted internationally by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) but it is the government that is ambling on the matter.

Opposition Leader David Granger

This is according to Leader of the Political Opposition Brigadier (rtd) David Granger, who in a brief telephone interview with this publication last evening, said that in the past two weeks he has penned a number of letters to several key stakeholders outlining the opposition’s concerns.
According to Granger, he has written to the Chairman of CARICOM, Ralph Gonsalves, who is the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Chairperson of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), Allison Maynard-Gibson, Executive Director at CFATF, Calvin Wilson and President Donald Ramotar.
Granger said that he believes that opposition and CFATF have done all that can be done on their part, but it is the government which has to act.
According to Granger, the opposition is standing firm on its demands, namely, that he assents to the four Bills that were passed and which the President has refused to sign.
He pointed, too, to the concerns of the Alliance for Change (AFC) which has been agitating for the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission.
According to Granger, the matter involving the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill can be resolved in one day if the government is willing to concede to the demands of the opposition.
Granger said that what the opposition is pursuing with regards to the amendments it has made to the AML/CFT Bill is in pursuit of an enforceable legislation. He pointed to the fact that the law has been in place 14 years and there has not been a single charge laid against anyone.
He noted that it must not be a case where you have a law that cannot be enforced.
“We are committed to a strong Bill,” said Granger.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall is currently heading a delegation to the CFATF Plenary Meeting that is being held in Florida, USA, and concludes tomorrow.
Nandlall is reported in the media yesterday as saying that Guyana is most likely to be referred to the international body, FATF.
“From all indications, it does not look optimistic, and Guyana’s referral to FATF by CFATF appears to be a virtual certainty,” Nandlall is quoted as saying.
Last November, CFATF issued a public statement and was adamant that Guyana must pass the relevant legislation and implement all the outstanding issues within its Action Plan, including fully criminalizing money laundering and terrorist financing offences; addressing all the requirements on beneficial ownership; strengthening the requirements for suspicious transaction reporting, international co-operation, and the freezing and confiscation of terrorist assets, and fully implementing the UN conventions.
Guyana is yet to meet the legislative obligation, namely the passage of the AML/CFT Bill.
The three political parties have been haggling for months on end over the Bill which is in a special select committee of Parliament.
The three amendments submitted by A Partnership for National Unity have been completed and are currently with the Chief Parliamentary Counsel who will finalize the draft Bill to be taken back to the House for a vote.