Introduction
For the remaining columns in this series on money laundering in Guyana, I shall concentrate on portraying a strategic road map for the way ahead, in light of the current impasse in Guyana’s relations with the Caribbean Financial Action Force (CFATF). The columns presented so far have been informed by a Memorandum entitled, Guyana: Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation – The Way Ahead, which I have submitted to the Special Select Committee, established by the National Assembly.
The road map for the way forward begins with four Guideposts. These are 1) The size and scale of the money laundering threat 2) Assessment of government’s strident demands for the immediate passage of the legislative amendments before the Special Committee 3) The dimensions of Guyana’s money laundering situation and 4) the core weaknesses of Act №. 13 of 2009, which the legislative amendments seek to address. These are discussed respectively below.
Guidepost 1: Size and Scale
The most important strategic consideration for devising a way ahead is the magnitude of the threat posed by money laundering. Both the FATF and the CFATF have adopted the position that because these matters are criminal in nature, nobody can measure their true magnitude. This is correct, but the use of proxy indicators, combined with personal judgements have
