Oil boom heightens corruption awareness in Guyana – AG tells UN, defends free, critical press

Dec 18, 2025 News

---

(Kaieteur News) – Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall on Tuesday told the Eleventh Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention, that oil has made Guyana more aware of corruption.

Reminding the convention that Guyana is the only English-speaking country on the continent of South America and expressing his gratitude to the Qatari government for hosting the event, he went on to highlight that Guyana is also a part of CARICOM and the newest petro state in the world.

“It is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, recording a growth rate of almost 50% in 2024. This newly found petroleum revenue stream has made Guyana even more acutely aware of the pernicious nature of corruption and its destructive impact in every sphere of human endeavour,” Nandlall said.

In this light Guyana remains committed to participating in the global battle for the elimination for all forms of corruption, with the country reaffirming its unwavering commitment to continued implementation of “the letter and spirit of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.”

The AG went on to say that Guyana has demonstrated a commitment to combating corruption, as is reflecting in the country being a member of every leading global and regional organization whose mandate aligns with anti-corruption pursuits.  This includes but is notably not limited to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Inter American Convention against Corruption, the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), the Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Integrity Commissions and Anti-Corruption bodies and others.

Nandlall also highlighted that the country submits to regular reviews, which are carried out by international financial institutions as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. These assessments have repeatedly recognized the “continuous progress made by our government in improving Guyana’s anti-corruption credentials, Guyana’s legislative and constitutional framework enshrine a robust regime of checks and balances, which extracts from government, public offices and state agencies a high level of accountability, transparency and adherence to the rule of law in the discharge of their functions.”

The above mentioned also includes an independent auditor general office that carries out audits on expenditure annually of the public funds subsequently presenting its report to Parliament. There is also a statutory framework that governs the receipt and expenditure of revenues generated from the petroleum sector, alongside a broad based administrative and parliamentary oversight.

Not ending there, he went on to say that there is also a public procurement process which has oversights presiding over the award of contracts that are being funded by public funds,  “an independent judiciary and a free and critical press, all of which aggregate to form part of Guyana’s anti-corruption, anti-corruption architecture, the United Nations Convention against Corruption rightly places heavy emphasis on the anti-money laundering and countering the financing terrorism apparatus in individual member states.”

In this light, Nandlall said that he is pleased to report that Guyana was the subject of the fourth round of a mutual evaluation by the CFATF and passed with flying colours, winning an award during the said assessment.

“The case examined was that of a Deputy Commissioner of Police of Guyana slapped with over 300 criminal charges of corruption, the first of its kind in the Caribbean, in line with recommendations emanating from the United Nations Convention against Corruption, Guyana has already begun to place great emphasis on the detention and forfeiture of assets that are proceeds of crime, or whose acquisition are tainted by illicit activities, we are firmly of the view that hitting the asset base of the criminals will be an effective weapon against organized crimes,” the AG said.

Recently, the country has enhanced relations with its international partners to have mutual assistance and criminal matters, as well as extradition as part of the battle against cross border crimes. He noted that Guyana has acceded to an extradition request from the government of the United States of America “to surrender two fugitive offenders, one of whom is a Member of Parliament indicted in a 50 million US dollars, smuggling and money laundering, anti-Money, money laundering, conspiracy. His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana, recently announced an intention to establish an anti-corruption unit, no doubt with accompanying legislative authority to augment Guyana’s war against corruption.”

In concluding his address Nandlall said that while much has been accomplished in the fight against corruption, it is recognised that it is still a work in progress, but his administration is committed to persevere with these efforts, while welcoming guidance and assistance from the regional and global partners.

---

• AG, corruption, Nandlall, Oil boom, press, UM forum

---