PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC—Guyana says it will enact a slew of amendments to its extradition laws, making it easier for extraditions to and from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall SC, addressing the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Working Group on FATF Issues (WGFI) here on Tuesday, said that the Irfaan Ali government hopes to enact the legislation by next week. He said it would also be helpful in the extradition of people to and from the United States.
“We have also made great improvements in the fields of combating proliferation financing and terrorism financing (AML/CFT), as well as having a well-functioning international cooperation regime, particularly through our Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Our FIU is now a member of the Egmont Group,” Nandlall told the CFATF 58th Plenary and Working Group Meetings.
He told the meeting that the mutual evaluation process is involved, tedious, and requires much focus and dedication. Guyana has completed a number of risk assessments, of which coordinated actions and responses have followed.
“These include a legislative agenda that sought to achieve ratings of at least largely compliant in all of the 40 Recommendations and use of our national AML/CFT authority to strengthen the capacities of supervisory, competent, and law enforcement authorities through technical assistance and training from our international partners.
“Undoubtedly, while we may not have the perfect regime, no one can fault the efforts demonstrably exhibited thus far. This is coupled with a clear and settled will and intent to combat money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing in every sphere of national life,” the Guyana Attorney General said.
He said Guyana has the structural underpinnings, tools, and actions to illustrate that in most areas, “we have achieved at least moderate to substantial ratings of effectiveness, with only significant or moderate improvements needed, based on the Assessment Team’s findings, as well as a horizontal review of other MERs in the FATF and CFATF network.
“We recognize that while the cost of compliance is high, the consequences of not complying are not an option. Though scarce, resources are adequately budgeted annually to improve Guyana’s AML/CFT architecture. I pledge our government’s unequivocal and unwavering commitment to this cause.”
Nandlall said that although the Guyanese economy and infrastructure are undergoing transformative changes, he wanted to remind delegates that Guyana faced tremendous economic challenges not so long ago.
“Additionally, while we have the largest landmass in the Caribbean region, we are one of the most underpopulated nations per capita in South America and beyond with a population of just 800,000 persons.”
He said Guyana is currently confronting an existential threat from its western neighbor Venezuela, which is claiming two-thirds of Guyana’s sovereign territory.
“Guyana has had to deal with bellicose threats of territorial invasions and a purported legal annexation of two-thirds of its territory by Venezuela. The matter is currently at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).’
Nandlall said that the CARICOM country is still primarily a cash-based society and is not an offshore or company-forming jurisdiction.
He said legal formations such as trusts, for example, have never and still do not form part of Guyana’s legal and commercial architecture.
“It is not surprising, therefore, that trusts make up less than four percent of legal persons or arrangements in Guyana,” he said, telling the meeting that work is ongoing on modern trust legislation, which will be enacted shortly.
“It would be the first of its kind in Guyana. Another unique issue in Guyana is using co-operatives as a legal arrangement. These are legal entities created by statute and enacted over six decades ago to assist small peasant farmers in communal agricultural pursuits.
“The main assets of these organizations consist of state lands, which these co-ops hold by lease. The statutory regulatory framework requires these entities to comply with the governing legislation and to file annual returns.
“Expectedly, most of them are in default. In our view, they pose no AML/CFT risk whatsoever, but they fell to be considered for the assessment,” he added.
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