Money laundering legislation for Guyana soon, says minister
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| Published on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 |
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GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA): The Money Laundering Prevention (Amendment) Act which is expected to be tabled in Guyana's Parliament shortly will provide for seizure of assets derived as proceeds of crime. These include money, investments, and real and personal property.
“We are committed to addressing the issue of money laundering, and I am committing in this House that the money laundering legislation will be brought to this National Assembly shortly,” Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee said recently in Parliament.
The new legislation is expected to incorporate the 40 recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Money Laundering, along with an additional nine recommendations relating to terrorist financing.
A final draft of the legislation was completed but because it was handed over about two-weeks prior to the dissolution of Parliament in April 2006, the legislation could not have been passed.
The new legislation is also expected to provide for oversight of export industries, the insurance industry, real estate and alternative remittance systems.
The Act establishes the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), the offices of the Attorney General, and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the FIU as the authorities responsible for investigating financial crime.
The Money Laundering Prevention Act of 2000 criminalizes money laundering related to narcotics trafficking, illicit trafficking of firearms, extortion, corruption, bribery, fraud, counterfeiting and forgery.
The United States (US) Department of State, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2007 recommended that the government of Guyana introduce a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) - drafted money laundering legislation as early as possible in the current legislative session. The report was released on March 1.
The FIU along with other external agencies was tasked with producing draft legislation to replace the Money Laundering (Prevention) Act of 2002.
In order to improve Guyana’s anti-money laundering regime, the FIU has prepared drafts of legislation criminalizing the financing of terrorism and expanding the scope of the money laundering offense.
The unit was established in 2003 within the Ministry of Finance and receives its funding through the Ministry. | | | | Reads : 37 |
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