…as FATF lauds APNU+AFC Govt. over positive steps taken-WilliamsGuyana under the coalition government of A Partnership for National Unity plus Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) is light years away from being blacklisted by the International Financial Action Taskforce (FATF).Attorney General,NFL Jerseys From China, Basil Williams updates media operativesThis was the report given by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, as he yesterday updated media operatives on Guyana’s recent assessment by the international body.Guyana, he said, can be considered as grey-listed but that the political will and commitment on the part of the new government was lauded.FAFT, he said, lauded the APNU+AFC Government for achieving in a matter of months, something which the previous administration was unable to for 15 years.The Minister said that Guyana was recognized for having implemented fully,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, five of the recommendations of the international body. There is still some more work to be done in three other areas.The recommendations, he noted, came about as a result of a mutually agreed action plan, agreed to by Guyana and FATF.Grilled on the outstanding matters in order to meet all of the requirements as required,Cheap Jerseys Supply, Williams said that they include among other matters, “the question of identifying, tracing and freezing of assets.”He said that work is also to be done as it relates to accessing the assets to be frozen. He spoke of a provision in the relevant legislation whereby the Director of Public Prosecutions can apply to freeze a person’s assets within seven days after receiving the relevant complaints.This, he said,China Adidas Hockey Jerseys, is compounded by the fact that the reporting entity against suspicious transactions is prohibited from engaging the matter by five days.He said that this leaves a position where the reporting entity is prevented from attending to a matter and the time within which the DPP has to apply to freeze the assets which in itself presents an anomaly that has to be rectified.According to Williams, the procedure requires that there should be no delays in pursuing assets flagged by a reporting entity.On the matter of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) legislation which was approved by the new government when it came to office,Supply NFL Jerseys, Williams reported that there were no complaints.“None whatsoever,” said Williams who went on to explain that the recommendations that Guyana has been implementing, came about through an agreed action plan.He said it was not a case of other matters being imported into that action plan for implementation by government.“So you had to deal with your action plan and you will see them (FATF) saying that we should continue the action plan.”He spoke to Guyana’s efforts at putting in the necessary governance framework such as bodies like the Financial Intelligence Unit.Asked to clarify Guyana’s status quo, in relation to FATF, Williams said, “What they have seen for a government that has been in office for four months is like a bright light.”According to Williams, the report on Guyana is a public document for all to see.? “We are in what would be a light-grey situation.”The Attorney General further stated that Guyana remains grey listed only because a representative was unable to travel to a recent assessment conducted in Guyana,Cheap NFL Jerseys Supply, held in Ecuador recently.Williams said at the time, that Guyanese legislatures were debating the 2015 National Estimates.The Attorney General said he was actually told by the co chair of the Americas Region Review Group that attending that attending the meeting would have helped to unravel some of the hurdles faced by Guyana when it comes to full implementation of all of the agreed recommendations for implementation.He was adamant that at no time was Guyana ever blacklisted internationally by FATF and in fact called the suggestion a hoax perpetrated on the country by his predecessors.According to Williams, it was only after he would have appeared before the FAFT body for its review that the details were spelt out in relation to Guyana’s position with that world body.“I had to go to the FATF meeting to know exactly what the situation is,” said Williams.He also sought to rubbish claims that Guyana was deemed non-compliant by FATF. This designation would or could only be applied in face of failing an onsite assessment.This is a precondition for any delisting and “unless and until you have an onsite visit there is no question of being fully compliant; there is no question of being delis

Two persons who are well known to the authorities are in custody following the daring daylight robbery that occurred on Thursday last in the New Amsterdam Market.Acting on information, the police arrested a 19 year old businessman and a driver both of Canje, Berbice.According to reports, around 08:30 hrs on Tuesday last,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, a lone gunman dressed in a red shirt and black pants robbed the popular Hack’s Variety Stall, owned by Rashid Hack and escaped with a bag of cash.Hack sells a variety of items at the establishment, and also is a licenced Cambio dealer.The bandit had turned up at the business premises under the pretext of conducting business. He suddenly whipped out a gun and held employee Alvin Mature at gunpoint and demanded cash.The thief who was unmasked and using expletives, had pressed the gun to the man’s mouth,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, threatening to shoot if he didn’t hand over money. He subsequently escaped with the money. While fleeing,Cheap Authentic Jerseys, the bandit held on to one of Hack’s employee who was on his way into work and held him hostage as he fired shots into the air.The man then ran out of the market and joined an accomplice on a motorcycle. The men then rode up the one-way before turning into Lad Lane and disappearing in the vicinity of Angoy’s Avenue.The businessman stated that he had lost over $2M.The police were contacted and after visiting the scene they began diligent investigation.Several persons in the area were contacted and questioned, and acting on information received,jerseys cheap nfl, the police arrested two persons. Christopher Osman, 19,Cheap Jerseys From China, a businessman of lot 114 Cumberland,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, East Canje, Berbice and Irishad Alli, 30, a car driver of No 2 Village East Canje, Berbice are assisting with investigation.

Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General, Basil Williams, has re-emphasised that Guyana is not ‘blacklisted’. Statements made by some opposition members, prior to the country’s commendation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) are nothing but erroneous and mischievous, he said.????? .Speaking on a National Communications Network’s (NCN)? programme recently, the Minister said, “When I came back from meeting with? FATF: the International Coordinating Review Group (ICRG) and the FATF Plenary, at the recently concluded (October) Meeting in Paris,China NFL Jerseys, France, I was shocked to read a headline, in the Guyana Times, actually declaring that Guyana still remains blacklisted.”Williams explained that after his ensuing press conference and the issuance of his press release on what actually transpired at the meeting, he thought that matters would have been grasped, and that retraction would have been forthcoming.He added that the Public Service Commission (PSC) in stating that it is disappointed with where Guyana is at the moment, “is suggestive of corroborating what the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) stated, but still is not reflective of the truth.”Minister Williams reiterated that the Coalition Government “was actually applauded by FATF, for doing within four months,Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic, what the PPP/C government failed to do in 15 years.”?? He added,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, “In that release, it was clearly stated that the APNU+AFC Government came in for high praise, from both institutions of FATF (Financial Action Task Force); the International Coordinating Review Group (ICRG), and the FATF Plenary,Wholesale Jerseys, at the recently concluded Meeting in Paris, France.”He said the ICRG adopted the Assessors’ report of its regional arm, the Americas Region Review group (ARRG), which stated inter alia, that the main development in Guyana is the enactment of the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Amendment Act 2015, which became enforceable on July 10, 2015.Minister Williams said, “Guyana has demonstrated its commitment to comply with the action plan and is to be commended for having met most of the deadlines.”The AG also alluded to the Guyana Chronicle of Thursday, December 2014, where the former AG had clearly stated that Guyana was not blacklisted. At that time, the FATF Plenary did say that Guyana ‘will maintain its status quo’ in the Compliance Document.“Therefore, logically, the PPP/C is contradicting itself,” the Minister noted. In this regard overall, “Guyana is light years away from any kind of blacklisting; more so, that the current Government has manifested the political will to enforce all of FATF’s recommendations.”“As soon as the governance of Guyana changed hands, the APNU+AFC Government’s first initiative was to pass the AML/CFT 2015 Amendment Bill, and also laid the requisite regulations in the House, and all of these are now law.”The current Government was very concerned with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU),Cheap Jerseys For Sale, since the then government brought its version of the Bill, but the manner of the appointment of the Director of the FIU was most compromising, since that position was to be enacted by the then Minister of Finance.The AG noted, too, that this ‘appointed person’ could have only been fired by the President himself,NFL Jerseys Clearance, and thus, “this would have meant that the whole exercise would have been a PPP/C’s.”All of this has changed now and the FIU is totally independent, the AG detailed, “as it should be, without political interference and influence, and that is the main difference between them (PPP/C) and us, and so now accepted by FATF.”