Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited says it rejects any assertion that it has been engaged in money laundering activities.
In a statement on Wednesday it was responding to a news item in that day’s edition of the Kaieteur News headlined ‘SARU probes local Bank accused of money laundering’.
“Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited rejects the assertion that it is engaged in money laundering activities. The Bank has a rich history of integrity spanning over 175 years and views any suggestion of this nature to be malicious, libelous and unfounded.
“In particular, the Bank denies that any deposit of cash or cash equivalents was made to the referenced account by the named party on June 16, 2011 or any other date.
“In light of the article which seeks to tarnish the Bank’s reputation and question its adherence to sound banking principles, Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited will take all necessary steps, including reviewing legal options to address these false allegations, to protect its reputation and the interests of all stakeholders.”
On Wednesday, the Bank of Guyana had issued a statement saying that it had investigated the matter referred to in the KN report and found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Republic Bank.
In its statement, the BoG noted that the KN report had also suggested that there was inaction on its part.
“The Bank wishes to advise that, subsequent to the receipt of a letter of complaint and request for prosecution of the financial institution, the Bank conducted an examination of the relevant records of the financial institution. Based on the documents and records examined by the Bank of Guyana, no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Republic Bank (Guyana Limited) was found.
“The examination revealed that the financial institution had taken steps to ensure compliance with the relevant Prudential Supervision Guidelines issued by the Bank of Guyana under the Financial Institutions Act No 1 of 1995.
