AG says more convictions needed to remain effective under FATF Regime

Oct 27, 2016 News

Having exited the watch list of the global Anti-money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism compliance process of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Guyana must now produce more convictions to show sufficient progress on effectiveness.
After returning from his visit to Paris, Attorney-General Basil Williams at a press conference yesterday report on the FATF meeting, said, “Guyana cannot be complacent as the fourth round Mutual Evaluation beckons. The test there is whether Guyana would have shown “sufficient progress on effectiveness, for example having more convictions for offences of money laundering, terrorist financing and the purloining of state assets.”
When asked how equipped is the government to go after persons suspected of money laundering based on the new development, Williams said that the first money laundering Act was passed in 2000 but no one was ever investigated or charged.
“Between 2000 and the time we took office no one was ever prosecuted for any money laundering offence in Guyana. It is only when we took office, people were not just investigated but they were also charged and taken to court.”
The administration came to office in May 11, 2015.
Williams said that a lot of those cases have not resulted in convictions. He said that in some situations money as well as gold bars were returned. However, he explained that this will not be sufficient in the fourth round.
“In the fourth round, we will have to show effectiveness and that we are making sufficient progress, in other words, convictions. We can’t tell them we charged 100 people and we don’t have convictions.”
He said that Guyana needs to do work in this regard because if initial investigation is done and this area is missing, the country can return to the ICRG Review Process. He stressed that what is important hereinafter is a large degree of self-assessment.
“We have to start ensuring that all of these legal framework and regulatory framework are effectively addressed in the fourth round. By the time 2020 we must be able to show regular convictions for money laundering offences.”
The AG said that the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) has been doing a lot of work. He said that the matter of state assets has been added to Anti-money laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism process.
According to the Attorney-General, Guyana’s removal from the FATF Compliance Document paves the way for a similar removal from the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s (CFATF) monitoring process which is slated for November.
Williams said that at the FATF conference Spain had moved a motion which was then supported by the United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, France and Mexico to recommend Guyana be moved from the compliance document.
He said, “It was because of such solid support, that the recommendation that Guyana exit the process was unanimously adopted by the FATF Plenary meeting two days later.”

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