3 Blacklisting imminent News
friDay, may 23 , 2014| guyanatimesGY.com
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– Dr Luncheon appeals to Opposition for sanity to prevail BY SVETLANA MARSHALL
T
he possibility of Guyana meeting the May 29 deadline set by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) for the passage of the AntiMoney Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) (AML/CFT) Bill is slim. Guyana will come under review during the XXXIX CFATF meeting in Miami on May 26-29, but though the country faces the possibility of being blacklisted by the international financial watchdog, both the Government and Opposition have been moving at snail’s pace in addressing critical issues linked to the Bill. The next sitting of the National Assembly is set for June 19 despite the May 29 deadline. But Head of the Presidental Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon on Thursday said, “No-legislation and a non-compliant legislation are the same.” At the time, he was speaking at the Office of the President during his weekly post-Cabinet press conference. Based on the advice of Attorney General Anil Nandlall, the Donald Ramotar Administration has long argued that the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) proposed amendments to the AML/ CFT Act of 2009 are not in compliance with CFATF/ FATF standards and if enact-
ed, would result in Guyana being blacklisted. Though it has been argued that the National Assembly of Guyana can “pass any law”, Dr Luncheon said when considering the Anti-Money Laundering Legislation, CFATF’s and the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) standards must be taken into full consideration. As a result, Dr Luncheon questioned the underlying principle of attempting to pass a Bill that is considered non-compliant with CFATF/ FATF standards. “The consequences of enacting non-compliant legislation are predictable…. In essence, putting a serving President in an invidious position of assenting to noncompliant CFATF legislation, I think is an imposition that needs to be thought out well by the Opposition.” He said due to the political nature of the issue that faces the National Assembly and by extension Guyana, the Opposition is holding fast to its position to fulfil its political agenda.
Uncompromising
“The Opposition is clearly willing and of course able to inflict blacklisting on Guyana and its population must now be acknowledged and understood. Their political end remains paramount in this issue.” Nevertheless, Dr Luncheon said efforts that have been made by political
Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon
leaders and civil society can not go unnoticed, but said this is a very sad period for Guyana. If Guyana fails to pass the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill, CFATF will decide to effectively nominate the country for the FATF International Corporation Review Group (ICRG) review. FATF is due to meet in June. During that meeting, the international financial body will determine whether Guyana should be subjected to a prima-facie review by the International Corporation Review Board. This therefore means that Guyana could land itself on any of the three blacklisting tiers. The most severe level, which is found at the top of the chart, effectively requires countries to issue countermeasures against countries on that list. Presently, North Korea and Iran are the only
two countries blacklisted at this extreme level The second layer includes countries that have significant AML/CFT safety deficiencies, but have not given a political commitment to deal with those issues or have not formulated an action plan in collaboration with FATF to deal with outstanding issues. The lowest tier encompasses countries that have issued a political commitment to implement the reforms and formulated an action plan to be implemented by strategic deadlines. However, if the country during the review period offers to commit to the AML/CFT standards and establishes an action plan in conjunction with FATF, it would be placed on the lowest level. (Svetlanam@guyanatimesgy. com)