“The PPP/C was unreasonable and inflexible” Government of Guyana knew since 2011 that the 2009 Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act was deficient, as was the 2000 Act it replaced.This view is held by Financial Analyst and Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram,
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Cheap Air Max 90 Men Shoes, although this was known, the government did nothing until it was too late.? Ram opined that the Parliamentary Opposition was right to force a review by the Select Committee but it then lost a good opportunity to achieve tangible results.Financial Analyst, Christopher Ram“All the AFC seems to have wanted was a Procurement Commission, even at the expense of a proper statutory and institutional framework and the APNU wanted a ‘good bill’ but failed to make any concrete proposals to achieve that,” Ram said.He said that the Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) on the other hand was prepared to concede nothing. “No Procurement Commission, no removal of unconstitutional provisions in the substantive Act and no concession on the existing failed model of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).”Ram noted that although the Opposition might have been irresponsible,
Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, the PPP/C was unreasonable and inflexible.He said that the consequence of that lethal combination is that our country can now become an “International Pariah”.Ram further stressed that fixing the law itself is not insurmountable and with the will and flexibility, there is no reason why these cannot be satisfactorily addressed within a very short period.He did posit that that the technical exercise will have to be matched by the willingness to tackle corruption and crime in all their manifestations, strengthening the Guyana Police Force, the Director of Public Prosecutions Office and the Courts.Ram said that it was time for the Commissioners to be appointed to the Integrity Commission.He advocated for the Public Procurement Commission to be established,
Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, the introduction of the long-promised whistleblower legislation and the appointment of an Ombudsman.“Absent a proper institutional framework, all the legislation in the world will be completely ineffective,” Ram noted.Moreover Ram said that while the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) has drawn attention to deficiencies in the Anti Money Laundering act, there are other weaknesses which it appears to have overlooked.Ram explained that section 2 (2) (1) of the act is clearly out of place. According to Ram, some of the freezing and forfeiture provisions seem to collide with fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.Moreso, he said, the provisions regarding the admission of otherwise inadmissible evidence, standard of proof and closed hearings do not seem to accord with the constitutional rights of citizens.Apart from meeting the CFATF requirements to bring Guyana in compliance with its obligations under regional and international regime to deal with money-laundering and terrorism financing, the Act clearly has serious defects.The very structure of the Act, the role and location of the FIU and the appointment of a Director who seems totally out of his depth in terms of enforcement of the Act, all suggest a feeble, cosmetic attempt to address money laundering, said Ram.“This state of affairs should not be allowed to continue…Money laundering has not only social and economic implications – distorting competition, driving out legitimate businesses and fuelling tax evasion – but it also has implications for crime…The proceeds of corrupt transactions have to be laundered while the guns brought into Guyana and used to kill, are often financed by laundered money.”
