Guyana among several countries listed as “major money laundering jurisdiction” – US report

The US Department of State’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) Volume Two of March 2018 has listed Guyana, among many other countries, as “major money laundering jurisdictions in 2017”.
The report declared that there was a lack of strong interagency cooperation among anti-money laundering (AML) and drug-fighting agencies, adding that these departments did not have adequate human resources and the necessary training for complete effectiveness.

The report called for more training, education, and resources to improve the fight against money laundering. In its 2018 overview of Guyana, the INCSR posited that “narcotics trafficking and government corruption are the primary sources of laundered funds”. Other issues outlined were human trafficking, illicit gold mining, contraband, and tax evasion.
The report reiterated that Guyana was a transit country for South American cocaine destined for Europe, the Caribbean and North America, noting that traffickers were attracted to Guyana’s remote airstrips, porous land borders, and weak security infrastructure.
It was outlined that Guyana should continue to provide training to “increase awareness and understanding of AML laws within the judiciary and agencies. The major agencies involved in anti drug and money laundering efforts, such as the Guyana Police Force (GPF); Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA); the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU); the Special Organised Crimes Unit (SOCU) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) were observed as not being effective enough owing to “inadequate human resources, insufficient training, and a lack of strong interagency cooperation”.
Apart from Guyana, Brazil, Barbados, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States itself were, among many others, listed as “Major Money Laundering Jurisdictions in 2017”.
Only last month former Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall accused his successor, Basil Williams, of conveying the impression that the country was compliant with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements, based on statements he had made in the National Assembly.
He had pointed out that Williams admitted in Parliament he was informed by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) that amendments made to the AML/CFT Amendment Bill in 2015 were in violation of the international guidelines.
Williams, he had observed, told the House that he was also directed to remove them from the legislation.
Nandlall recalled that when the coalition took office in 2015, the first Bill it passed was the AML/CFT Amendment Bill, Number 1 of 2015. It was tabled at the very first sitting of the 11th Parliament.
“It contained all of the objectionable amendments. It was tabled by Williams. He was boastful that he was able to pass the Bills that the previous Government could not pass. It is obvious, therefore, that we were never compliant with the international requirements, as the AG (had) previously informed the nation,” he stressed last month
The former AG had also noted that while in Opposition, the now Government caused Guyana to be blacklisted by the CFATF, and to be sanctioned internationally. “Now in Government, they have caused the very same thing to happen!” he posited in March.