CFATF official to meet local MPs on anti-money laundering bill

A Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) official on Friday will meet with parliamentarians fine-tuning the controversial Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill.

Chairperson of the special select committee looking at the bill, Gail Teixeira made this disclosure on Wednesday, minutes after a brief meeting with committee members at Parliament Buildings.

According to the government’s chief whip, preparations have commenced for the arrival of the CFATF official, who is expected to address concerns expressed by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).

On Wednesday, when the committee met, Chief Parliamentary Counsel (CPC) Cecil Dhurjon submitted a document with one of the draft amendments proposed by the coalition, but sought further clarification on the others.

Extension

APNU members led by Shadow Finance Minister Carl Greenidge requested an extension to study the queries sought by Dhurjon.

The CPC had asked for clarification during the last meeting of the committee on Wednesday. The remaining amendments; however, are expected to be presented during a meeting set for next Wednesday.

APNU in its proposed amendments is seeking to remove the powers of the finance minister to appoint the director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and have it placed within a committee of the National Assembly.

It is also pushing for the establishment of an anti-money laundering authority, comprising 10 members appointed by the House.

Additionally, APNU has also proposed the seizure of cash of over Gy$2 million by the police or customs, once there are reasonable suspicions. The CPC in his submitted document had major concerns with the anti-money laundering authority, introduced by the opposition.

However, Teixeira told Guyana Times International that she is growing tired of the back and forth movement, but expressed hope that the work of the committee will culminate at the next meeting, paving the way for the bill to be presented in the National Assembly next Thursday.

“This back and forth is becoming very tiresome… I think Guyanese people are getting tired, and they have a right to be and as the chairman of the committee, I am finding it rather tiresome myself,” she said.

In addition to Teixeira and Greenidge, the meeting was also attended by the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, junior Finance Minister Juan Edghill and APNU parliamentarian Jaipaul Sharma.

Absent

Basil Williams attended the first half of the meeting while Alliance For Change (AFC) leader Khemraj Ramjattan and Joseph Harmon were absent.

Nandlall told this newspaper that the opposition did not furnish the CPC with adequate information during the initial stage; hence, Dhurjon chronicled a series of questions with the aim of attaining further clarification.

But Greenidge told GTI that the coalition would be basing its questions on autonomy. He explained that the government and the Private Sector Commission (PSC) had alleged that CFATF had indicated that the anti-money laundering bill should be based solely on its recommendation and should not be altered to include amendments to the principal act.

Opinion

Additionally, APNU would seek CFATF’s opinion on the establishment of an anti-money laundering authority. But while the coalition is looking forward to meeting the CFATF official, Greenidge said the meeting should not be rushed.

Guyana was granted another extension to comply with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. According to the government, the FATF plenary members on February 13 accepted the CFATF recommendation for Guyana to receive an extension.

However, it was said that the country should pass the anti-money laundering bill before the next CFATF plenary meeting in May 2014, when the country is expected to be reviewed.