Govt targeting criminal wealth in heightened asset seizure push

The Guyana Government will be ramping up efforts to go after assets obtained from criminal activities or through illegal means.

This was revealed by Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister SC Anil Nandlall on Wednesday as he spoke about the successes local law enforcement agencies have had in going after the assets of criminals.

“In recent times, we have reaped tremendous successes through a collaboration between DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions), AG Chambers, SOCU (Special Organised Crime Unit), members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), CANU (Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). You would read about how many accounts we have frozen recently; how many large quantities of gold and precious metals that we have detained, through court orders, using the legislation,” he posited.
In the same breath, however, Nandlall told reporters that the Government is now shifting its focus on the seizure of proceeds from crimes.

“The emphasis now going forward is on forfeiture, to seize proceeds of crime,” the AG declared.
When an individual is convicted for drug trafficking, they are usually sentenced to a period of imprisonment along with a fine. In the past, persons who only served the jail time without having to pay the fine. But now, the State would be going after that fine.

“We’re now going to pursue the fines, and we’re going to seize, using the law, properties that evidence suggests are the proceeds of crime or acquired through criminal means and criminal proceeds. And that is the new direction Guyana is going along with the Caribbean and the world,” Nandlall contended.

The AG made these remarks during an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for the Caribbean (ARIN-CARIB) Annual General Meeting being held in Georgetown.

ARIN-CARIB is a network of Caribbean law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judicial practitioners who specialise in the recovery of proceeds of crime in the region.

The two-day event features presentations, interactive sessions, and reports on respective countries’ successes in the fight against proceeds of crime.

Delivering the feature address at Wednesday’s opening ceremony, AG Nandlall disclosed that over the years, Guyana has been working on strengthening its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework. These efforts have extended beyond legislative reform to include institutional strengthening, enhanced operational coordination, expanded international cooperation, and increased capacity building among competent authorities.

According to the Legal Affairs Minister, these efforts have resulted in partnerships, both local and international, geared towards ensuring financial investigations are pursued comprehensively and that the proceeds of crime are identified, restrained, confiscated, and ultimately recovered in accordance with law.

In fact, he pointed out that technical support over the years from the Regional Security System (RSS) has helped Guyana to develop model legislative provisions on asset recovery and confiscation. However, he recognised that the work is far from over, revealing plans to further update the local AML/CFT regime to support asset recovery efforts.

“The Government of Guyana is presently undertaking comprehensive revisions to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act. These amendments are intended to further strengthen our confiscation framework, modernise our asset recovery provisions, improve investigative powers where appropriate, and ensure continued alignment with evolving Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards as we prepare for the fifth round of mutual evaluations.”

“Asset recovery remains one of the clearest indicators of an effective AML/CFT regime, and we remain committed to ensuring that our legislative framework continues to evolve to meet international best practices,” AG Nandlall stated.

He went on to add that another milestone that was recently achieved is the approval of staffing for the Guyana Compliance Commission – another show of efforts to strengthen Guyana’s supervisory framework for designated non-financial businesses and professionals.

According to Nandlall, as the Commission continues to expand its operational capacity, it will play an increasingly important role in protecting the integrity of Guyana’s financial system through effective supervision, enhanced compliance, monitoring and stronger engagement with reporting entities.

“It will also support our continuing efforts to develop robust risk-based oversight of non-profit organisations (NGOs) and to establish an appropriate supervisory framework for virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, as our legislative reforms continue to progress in accordance with international standards. These remain important areas for future development as we continue strengthening Guyana’s AML/CFT architecture,” the Legal Affairs Minister stated.