The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill (AMLCFT), will not come up for consideration in the next sitting of National Assembly.
This is according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon.
Parliament is expected to meet again on July 18 and Dr. Luncheon said that “under no stretch of the imagination would a date as early as July 18 allow for the completion of consideration by the Select Committee” of that Bill.
Dr. Luncheon said that Cabinet has been informed that the Select Committee has not even gotten around to the consideration of the bill and is at present instead addressing submissions that have been invited from the public and from other entities on the bill.
“So there is no way July 18 can see anything close to a report on the Anti-Money Laundering Amendment Act,” he said.
The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2013, proposes to amend the existing Act and related legislation by strengthening the mechanism to combat money laundering, financing of terrorism Bill (amendment was tabled on April 22 by Government in the National Assembly and put for debate on May 7.
On May 7, the Opposition then moved by majority to send it to a special select committee. Between May 8 and May 20 there were only three meetings. The Act should have come into full force on June 30, 2013.
Guyana secured an extension at the May 27 meeting in Managua, Nicaragua to be reconsidered at a meeting to be held in November in order to ensure that it complies with the recommendations made which include the passage of the bill in the National Assembly.
