UK wants anti-money laundering act put to work

– says passage crucial in fighting organised crime

By Samuel Sukhnandan

British High Commissioner to Guyana Andrew Ayre said the passing of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the

Financing of Terrorism Bill with the necessary amendments, is important to fighting the drug trafficking trade in Guyana.

The British diplomat made this statement at a recent public forum, stating that the bill not only applies to cash but to all illegally acquired property, exchanged for legitimate property, which are often linked to drug traffickers.

According to Ayre, crime and in particular “organised crime”, such as drug trafficking, is a huge business for financial gain. Criminals, he said, regard being caught as an occupational hazard and are often quite prepared to pay a fine or serve a term in prison, knowing very well that their assets would not be affected.

Latin America and the Caribbean suffer greatly from organised crime, mainly drug trafficking, and this has brought with it an increase in violence involving guns.

Escalating violence

Ayre said most English-speaking Caribbean countries have had proceeds of crime or anti-money laundering legislation for 20 years or more, but it has been rarely used to confiscate the assets of convicted criminals. This has allowed crime and violence to escalate.

“Trafficking in cocaine continues to offer the criminal the highest profit margin, but the growth, shipment, and distribution of cannabis provides important seed funding for drug cartels, enabling them to commit further offences by trafficking more profitable drugs,” he noted.

Referring to the World Drug Report 2010, the British diplomat said it indicates that drug trafficking is a US$ 320 billion-a-year industry. This, he stated, highlights the significant challenges that small states face, as they commit precious resources to take the fight to criminals involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.

Important message

“If they are prosecuted and their assets taken away from them, this can send an important message to the community. The message is crime does not pay,” he noted.

However if legislation is not enforced, criminals will continue to target jurisdictions that they view as a “soft touch”. On this note, Ayre said: “I hope that the Guyana parliament passes soon the required amendments to the act.”

The UK government, through the Department for International Development-funded Caribbean Criminal Assets Recovery programme, has made a commitment to support law enforcement agencies, to confiscate the assets of organised criminals in Guyana and other Caribbean jurisdictions and to seize at least US$ 8 million worth of proceeds of crime over the period 2011-2015.

The programme provides mentoring on cases to financial investigators, prosecutors, magistrates, and the judiciary dealing with proceeds of crime and money laundering matters. This includes improving investigative and prosecution skills.