Guyana to likely become a member of the prestigious Egmont group

An amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act (AML/CFT) will soon see Guyana becoming a member of the Egmont group.  The amendment to the Act will be laid before the National Assembly today.

It was revealed that admission to the Egmont group will boost Guyana’s capacity to fight AML/CFT offences and activities. The disclosure was made by Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, as he addressed an asset recovery workshop on Tuesday.

AG Nandlall said he will be, “reading for the first time an amendment to our Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act to introduce for the first time, our membership to the Egmont Group.”

It was pointed out that Guyana’s first application to become a member of the Egmont Group was made in 2014. It was disclosed that the Egmont Group is made up of 156 Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) and provides a secured platform for the exchange of expertise and financial intelligence to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Further, it also supports the efforts of its international partners and other stakeholders to give effect to the resolutions and statements by the United Nations Security Council, the G20 Finance Ministers, and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

“In this amalgam, they have certain facilities that are reciprocal to members so they share information, they share platforms, and it augments the capability of the individual states to discharge their functions under their respective legislations. We are going to be part of that very prestigious international grouping very shortly,” the Attorney General said.

Additionally, the Egmont Group is a trusted gateway for sharing financial information domestically and internationally in accordance with global Anti Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) standards.