APNU and the AFC effectively killed the government’s hopes of passing the anti-money laundering bill before a November 18th deadline set by the CFATF when they voted against its third reading last night in the National Assembly.
Leading up to the reading, several Government Parliamentarians, including Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall and Finance Minister Ashni Singh, implored the opposition to vote to pass the Bill, but these pleas fell on deaf ears as both the Alliance for Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) stuck to their guns and opposed the Anti-Money Laundering/ Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill. This move was not surprising as both parties have consistently vowed opposition to the bill,