The government has no plans to include any opposition members on the national delegation that will meet the Americas Regional Review Group (ARRG) next week as part of the review of the country’s progress on meeting international anti-money laundering standards.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall told Stabroek News that the composition of the team was ultimately the government’s decision and he could not comment on whether any changes would be made to the current team that will meet the ARRG. The ARRG is a sub-grouping under the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which has ordered the review in the light of Guyana’s failure to enact the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) amendment bill, which remains stalled in the National Assembly.
Nandlall said that the team currently includes the heads of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Specialised Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) and the Governor of the Bank of Guyana and the FIU’s legal advisor, who will be in Miami, Florida on September 29 and September 30.
No member of the opposition was invited, he explained, because it was a government delegation that was being summoned to meet to discuss the non-legislative measures Guyana has undertaken to ensure compliance with the FATF.
“Secondly, the opposition members of the select committee have demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt, in my view, that they have no intention of ensuring Guyana complied with its international obligations in terms of implementing the recommendations of the CFATF and the FATF. It is evident in their rejection of a bill that captures those recommendations,” Nandlall stated.
He also said that the opposition members of the select committee
