Financial transactions for lawyers, accountants, auditors to come under increased money laundering scrutiny  – Govt.  

Mar 16, 2023 News

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Kaieteur News – Having been assessed as having a medium high risk to the vagaries of money laundering, terrorism financing as well as the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Government’s newly adopted National Policy at revamping the system will now include professions such as lawyers, accountants, auditors and real estate developers and others.

According to the document recently adopted by the Cabinet, there has been ongoing outreach and sensitization within the Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBP) sector on the need for Supervisory Authority.

This, particularly in relation to the country’s Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT” regime, “and why it is important to have rules and reporting mechanism to combat financial crimes.”

As such, it has since been proposed as a government priority, to establish Supervisory Authorities for the targeted vulnerable areas of the DNFBPs regime.

This will include establishing appropriate AML/CFT supervisory oversight for Attorneys-at-Law, Commissioner of Oaths to Affidavits, Notary Public. Additionally, Accountants, Auditors Real Estate Brokers and Housing Developers are all targeted to come under special supervisory oversight. It was noted that AML/CFT supervisors will further intensify their efforts to supervise high- risk sectors, and sanction non-compliant reporting entities.

Additionally, as the country aims to update its regime, the adopted policy proposed that Bank of Guyana review supervision policies procedures and manuals to ensure that supervisory activities carried out are in keeping with international standards and the changing realities of the financial sector. It is also the intention of the administration to have AML/CFT supervisor’s resources (human and financial) be increased and to ensure adequate training of relevant staff.

According to the document, in order to “further ensure that there is an effective system of AML/CFT supervision in Guyana, it is necessary that this be clearly defined, in addition to the strengthening of the supervisory framework.”

This is critical considering the National Risk Assessments findings regarding Guyana’s overall money laundering risk which was reported as Medium High.

According to the document, the newly adopted Policy and Strategy is a five-year plan that aims to further enhance and improve Guyana’s Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation of Financing (AML/CFT/PF) regime by addressing the risks identified in second NRA Report and implement the strategy in conjunction with Guyana’s Risk Based Action Plan. Guyana is a member of the International Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) under which falls the Caribbean Financial Action Taskforce (CFATF) of which Guyana is a member and as such would have to subscribe to set criteria prescribed by the institutions. With this in mind, government said its new policy seeks to ensure that Guyana achieves a high level of compliance with the FATF Standards on combating ML, TF and PF; “and to effectively meet the key objectives of Guyana’s AML/CFT system in practice.”

To this end, the National Policy and Strategy provides a guide of the actions required to be undertaken to improve Guyana’s effectiveness in mitigating ML, TF, and PF.

“This National Policy and Strategy is a dynamic document reflecting Guyana’s efforts to combat ML, TF and PF risks and the progress in those endeavours. It will be reviewed every three (3) years to determine whether any amendments may be required to properly satisfy each objective,” it said.

Those identified as part of the process includes; The Attorney General’s Chambers, The Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Revenue Authority, the Ministries of Natural Resources and Finance and AML/CFT Supervisory Authorities such as the Bank of Guyana, among a host of other organisations. Guyana as a country was prior to 2016 listed on FATF’s ‘Grey List’ when it came to compliance. Having exited CFATF’s third round, follow-up process in 2016, after significantly addressing AML/CFT deficiencies identified by those bodies. The strategy, as presented, notes that Guyana subsequently commenced the preparation process for its CFATF’s fourth Round Mutual Evaluation, which is scheduled for the third quarter of 2023, by conducting two ML/TF National Risk Assessment (NRA) exercises between 2016 and 2021.

According to Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, “we recognise that we cannot operate in a vacuum, and cooperation is important domestically and internationally, particularly with our regional counterparts where effective and timely information sharing can make a vast difference in the detection and prevention of all crime, more specifically, financial and organised crime.” He said too, in the document that “additionally, we recognize that this National AML/CFT/PF Policy and Strategy can only be successful when linked to the strategic objectives of other important elements in the battle against money laundering (ML), terrorist financing (TF) and proliferation financing (PF).”

To this end, he said the administration has been implementing measures to combat related and predicate criminal offences. These efforts, Nandlall said, have been recognised, “resulting in Guyana enjoying improved rankings in international reports such as the United States’ Department of State International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) and the Transparency International Corruption Index. Similarly, Guyana has been removed from the European Union’s Blacklist on Taxation.”

He said that over the years, government has taken steps to equip its citizens with AML knowledge through outreach programmes, not only in the main cities but in the interior regions and “by these measures and more to be conceived, designed and implemented, in the immediate and long-term future, the Government of Guyana demonstrably indicates an intolerance to criminal activities, and assures that the country’s systems and citizens will be protected from the ill effects of ML, TF and PF.” Additionally, the Attorney General noted that as the nation enters a period of renewed prosperity for the country with its highly publicized discovery of offshore oil deposits, “we commit further to becoming the new frontier of integrity, prudence, fortitude and commitment to the rule of law in the preservation of our resources, the protection of our citizens and the advancement of their welfare.”

With the implementation of the newly adopted National Policy and Strategy, Nandlall is of the view it will not only bring “us in compliance with international obligations devolving upon Guyana, but will be the menu of organised strategic and targeted actions, that will create a robust and resilient protective network, that will insulate Guyana, and in particular, its financial system from being contaminated by the proceeds of crime.”

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• accountants, auditors, laundering, lawyers, money

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