APNU is now proposing that police and customs officers be given the power to stop and search persons, and if such persons are found with $2 million worth of currency or more, that currency can be seized and the persons arrested if the police or customs officer has reasonable suspicion that it is the proceeds of some serious offence or the subject of money laundering.Attorney GeneralAnil NandallThis observation came from Attorney General Anil Nandall.Currency is defined in the Act to include jewellery and precious metal,Wholesale Jerseys 2018, he said.The victim then must get an order from a judge to release his currency.This is susceptible to abuse and Government is concerned with the granting of such power to mere police and customs officers.Guyana is a cash-based economy. In the ordinary course of business, it is not unusual for Guyanese to have in their possession over $2 million in cash.For example the rice farmer after he reaps his paddy is paid in cash; a person who is building his house will go with cash exceeding $2M to buy his hardware items. A police officer or customs officer can seize those monies, he said.“We are aware of the allegations of corruption against the police force and the customs department. This power in the hand of the wrong person can wreak havoc in our country.“We believe that at least, there must be consultation with the Guyanese public before such a law is passed. In any event, this is not an amendment to the bill, neither is it part of the CFATF’s recommendations.”APNU is also proposing to change the whole Government structure of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). It is removing the power of the appointment of the director of FIU from the Minister and placing it in a committee of the National Assembly, Nandlall noted.The opposition grouping further proposed the establishment of an authority comprising10 persons nominated by the National Assembly after consulting with stakeholders,Wholesale Jerseys, Nandlall added.“The United Nations Security Council has produced a book in which they have examined all the FIUs around the globe. They have recommended the executive model to be used as it has proven to be the most effective.“Guyana,Cheap Jerseys Online, the entire Caribbean,Cheap NFL Jerseys, the United States and Canada have this model. In this model, the officers are appointed by the Executive however, whichever model is used,Cheap Jerseys, they emphasise that the FIU must be autonomous and independent.“The rationale clearly is that if you have too many persons involved in the appointment, it compromises the independence of the unit, its confidentiality, and exposes it to conflict of interest scenarios with too many persons now being associated with the unit some of whom are their relatives or may be the subject of investigations themselves,Authentic Jerseys Wholesale,” he stated.In terms of confidentiality, these persons will have access to a huge amount of people’s financial and other personal information.For these reasons, the AG is doubtful whether these proposals will enjoy the support of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force as no part in the world such a model exists.