Latest update April 7th, 2025 12:08 AM
FATF names Guyana as “risky” diamond trader
Guyana has been named as a risky diamond trading country.
Guyana has been named a risky place for buying diamonds by FATF.
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) said that it is alerting diamond companies to a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) notice which identifies Iran, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Myanmar as countries which pose a significant risk. This, the centre states, will require enhanced customer due diligence when trading with them.
It was further asserted that diamond companies have been requested to take into account the specific risks linked to the following countries when making their customer risk assessment: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Guyana, Iraq, Lao PDR, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Syria, Uganda and Yemen.
Part of the text of the AWDC announcement follows below:
“FATF issues caution for trade with Iran, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Myanmar
Registered diamond companies should apply enhanced customer due diligence measures when their customers are domiciled, located in, or have any other links to one of the following three countries: Iran, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Myanmar.
On 23 October 2015, the Financial Action Task Force identified three countries that still pose a significant risk to the international financial system due to their lack of comprehensive anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime. The FATF requires countermeasures to be taken for: Iran, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Myanmar.
This means that diamond companies should implement additional investigative measures for these countries above and beyond those that Belgian AML legislation requires.”
The FATF is the global regulator of the anti-money laundering regulations and other measures that are designed to help stop dirty money from funding terrorist activities. It was only this year that Guyana managed, after much internal wrangling and a change of Government, to introduce laws that will bring it in line with the rest of the world when it comes to tackling monies from illegal activities from being washed clean in the banking and other financial systems.
Guyana still has to put in place a number of measures, including more capacity to monitor, but has managed to stave off sanctions.
It has long been known that diamonds, especially from Africa, have been funding wars and terrorist activities.
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