Castries, St. Lucia - The Caribbean Association of Banks (CAB) recognizes the Guyana
government's efforts to put in place alternative measures to address the
technical deficiencies in its existing legal and financial legislative
framework for assessment by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and
applauds them. However, it is one small step in actions required by
Guyana in order for it to comply with international standards.
Guyana
must pass the essential Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the
Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Amendment Bill. "The passage of the
AML bill is not only about Guyana, but also about the international
financial sector as a whole in order to protect all financial systems,
within the region, from ongoing money laundering and terrorist financing
risks. We are only as strong as our weakest link," said Caribbean
Association of Banks, Chairman Carlton Barclay.
Billions
of dollars are laundered each year posing significant policy concerns
for governments worldwide. As a result, governments and international
bodies have undertaken efforts to deter, prevent, and apprehend money
launderers. Non-compliance to the global FATF recommendations will have a
significant impact on Correspondent Banking Relationships which, in
turn, is of vital importance to the facilitation of business in the
financial services sector of the region.
Guyana's
expediency in passing the AML/CFT Bill will not only benefit its own
economy and growth but strengthen our regional financial network and its
reputation worldwide.
Caribbean Association of Banks, Inc is a community
of banks and other financial institutions in the Caribbean/CARICOM
Region, which provides opportunities for discussion on issues impacting
the regional banking/financial services community as well as for the
sharing of experiences and networking. CAB is
an organization dedicated to the advocacy of national and institutional
adherence to AML/CFT. It recommends and supports full compliance with
the AML/CFT standards in order to protect all financial systems, within
the region, from ongoing money laundering and terrorist financing risks
offering ongoing training and education for its members.
