A key anti-money laundering report from Guyana was adopted at the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s (CFATF) 58th Plenary and Working Group Meetings earlier this month in Trinidad and Tobago.
The meeting was held from June 2nd to 7th. This Mutual Evaluation Exercise consisted of a comprehensive examination of the country’s Anti-Money Laundering/ Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, including a two-week on-site examination which took place in September, 2023, a release from the Attorney General’s Chambers said.
The release said that the Draft Report was adopted after intense scrutiny and discussions at the Plenary which consisted of over 200 high-level officials from across the Caribbean, Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Organisation of the American States (OAS), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
“The Assessment is a peer review process where experts from CFATF and FATF jurisdictions assess national measures implemented which are designed to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing, including the forfeiture of criminal instrumentalities and proceeds and assets derived from crime. At this face-to-face interrogative peer review engagement Guyana successfully withstood scrutiny and was able to defend the favourable assessment it received”, the release said.
The adopted Draft Report will now undergo a quality and consistency process with the FATF and the Global Network, prior to its publication later this year. Whilst the ratings remain confidential until the conclusion of the process, the release said that Guyana has provisionally gained good ratings in light of its national coordination mechanisms, the understanding of its risk and context and the operations of its Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
Guyana has also demonstrated that it has mechanisms for effective supervision, and preventative measures to enable authorities to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, the release noted.
The legislative agenda to reform the AML/CFT framework was successful, with Guyana provisionally having 88% of the Recommendations being rated Compliant or Largely Compliant, with 12% rated Partially Compliant. In none of the areas in which Guyana was examined was there any provisional rating as non-compliant.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC who led the delegation assured the Plenary that Guyana recognises the need to continue to invest in law enforcement authorities to ensure that the ability to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing remains “paramount” and gains further tangible results.
Guyana will report back to the CFATF in November 2025 on its Follow Up Actions based on the final published Report.
The Guyana delegation included officials from the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs, the Bank of Guyana, the FIU, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the Guyana Gold Board, the Special Organised Crime Unit, the Guyana Securities Council, the Treaty Office of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Guyana Revenue Authority, the Gaming Authority and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
