Last Friday, the National Assembly approved of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2015 which had been the subject of bitter disagreement since 2012 between the previous Administration and the then political Opposition. For three years, legislators struggled without success to have the amendments passed to bring our legislation in line with international standards. Despite threats of sanctions from the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and its parent body, no agreement had been reached as to the extent of the amendments.
Background to the Bill
Guyana became a member of the CFATF in 2002. In its first evaluation report issued in October 2006, the CFATF highlighted the absence of legislation on money laundering. In response, the Government tabled draft legislation in the National Assembly in January 2007 which was referred
