Guyana Government Releases Two Pieces Draft AML/CFT Legislation for Public Comment
With the exponential growth of the financial sector in Guyana, due in large part to the booming oil and gas industry, the South American emerging country is strengthening its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) legislative framework.
On 1 st May 2023, the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs announced that the Government will be tabling two bills before the National Assembly: the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2023 and the Guyana Compliance Commission Bill 2023. The aforementioned Amendment Bill seeks to amend several provisions under the existing Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, relating to procedural guidelines as well as substantive reporting obligations, while the latter Bill
aims to establish a regulatory regime in the form of a local Compliance Commission for effective oversight of all reporting agencies covered by the legislation.
The proposed legislation is in the wake of meetings between the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Regional Security System (RSS) during which several gaps in Guyana’s AML/CFT legislative framework were identified and which the Draft Bills now seek to correct. Since joining the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in 2002, Guyana has embarked on several legislative measures to address crimes related to money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities. This commenced with the enactment of the country’s principal AML legislation – the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act 2009; which has in the succeeding years undergone several amendments.
These Bills are open to public comment and can be accessed on the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs website www.mola.gov.gy.
LI&P closely monitors the legislative process for these bills and can provide advice to its clients in order to be prepared when the same is enacted.
