$63.1 to be spent on SOCU construction - Dr. Luncheon

$63.1 to be spent on SOCU construction – Dr. Luncheon

Aug 28, 2014 News

Government is expected to spend some $63.1M for the construction of the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU). This announcement was made yesterday by Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon.
Luncheon said that Cabinet which met on Tuesday last gave “no-objection” for the award of the contract.
Back in July Cabinet had approved the creation and operationalization of the (SOCU) Unit. The Unit is expected to be dedicated to investigating suspected financial transactions suggestive of money laundering and financing of terrorism. The Unit will be under the Commissioner of Police and will have a close relationship to the Finance Intelligence Unit (FIU), said Luncheon at his press conference at Office of the President.
Luncheon said too that (SOCU) is intended to be Guyana’s response to its treaty obligations to investigate suspicious financial transactions that are suggestive of money laundering. “SOCU’s creation is in response to non parliamentary recommendations from the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF),” Luncheon stated.
Also disclosed by Luncheon, was that approval was given by Cabinet to recruit investigators who would make up the “compliment of SOCU”.
The investigators, he said, would be taken from the joint services and the security sector.
According to Dr Luncheon, in order to properly facilitate the recommendations of CFATF as it pertains to suspected financial transitions, support is needed from “bilateral and multilateral partners”, who he said have been approached and many of which have shown interest in supporting SOCU in addressing money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.
Luncheon stated that the intention is to have a “fairly professional and competent capacity in Guyana” to investigate such offences as soon as possible.
“My ideal position that has been communicated to our bilateral and multilateral associates is that of a long term engagement of specifically trained, skilled investigators to act as a counterpart to the Guyanese head of SOCU.”
“I estimate a minimum of three years, a period of time over which inline investigations will be conducted. There will be the external investigator, who would also be formally tasked with training of our local investigators, Luncheon noted.

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$63.1 to be spent on SOCU construction – Dr. Luncheon

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$63.1 to be spent on SOCU construction – Dr. Luncheon

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