APNU does not need to be satisfied with Anti – Money Laundering Amendment – Gov’t

[www.inewsguyana.com] – Government says that it does not need to satisfy A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) when it comes to the details contained in the Anti – Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill.

Instead, it is the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) that needs to be satisfied. This is according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon during a press conference on Wednesday, October 30.

“It’s not APNU that has to be satisfied with this Bill. This Bill is CFATF’s Bill. Guyana has to satisfy CFAFT requirements. CFATF has dictated and will continue to dictate the Anti Money Laundering Bills of the world of States that specifically are treaty bound under the CFATF. So let’s put to rest that perspective,” Dr. Luncheon explained.

He further noted that the Bill arose from the multilateral evaluation report done by CFATF as it examined Guyana’s compliance with its treaty obligations.

The APNU is under pressure from the Diplomatic Community to ensure the successful passage of the Amendment Bill in Parliament.

On Tuesday, October 29 a number of diplomats which included United States Ambassador to Guyana, Brent Hardt; Canadian High Commissioner, Dr. Nicole Giles; British High Commissioner, Andrew Ayre and a representative from the European Union met with members of the APNU to discuss the Party’s position on the Amendment Bill.

Government members of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee met on October 22 and completed the work of the Amendment Bill.

The draft bill is now ready to be tabled at the next sitting of parliament for its final reading. However, this work was completed without the attendance of the parliamentary opposition.

Guyana has until November 18 to amend its laws to assure the international community that the country has taken mandatory steps to reduce the possibilities of dirty monies passing through its financial system, via money transfers and otherwise, to finance terrorism. Failure to pass the legislation will see Guyana being blacklisted.