Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07GEORGETOWN1075
2007-12-11 11:19:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Georgetown
Cable title:
INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, PART II
how-toVZCZCXRO8730 PP RUEHGR DE RUEHGE #1075/01 3451119 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 111119Z DEC 07 FM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6060 INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GEORGETOWN 001075
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR INL/LP KBROWN AND PWELZANT, WHA/CAR JROSHOLT, S/CT, EEB
JUSTICE FOR AFMLS, OIA, AND OPDAT
TREASURY FOR FINCEN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM EFIN KTFN SNAR GY
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, PART II
REF: STATE 137250
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GEORGETOWN 001075
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR INL/LP KBROWN AND PWELZANT, WHA/CAR JROSHOLT, S/CT, EEB
JUSTICE FOR AFMLS, OIA, AND OPDAT
TREASURY FOR FINCEN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM EFIN KTFN SNAR GY
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, PART II
REF: STATE 137250
1. (U) Post presents its 2008 International Narcotics Control
Strategy Report, Part II, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes.
Begin text:
Guyana is neither an important regional nor an offshore financial
center, nor does it have any free trade zones. Money laundering is
perceived as a serious problem, and has been linked to trafficking
in drugs, firearms and persons, as well as to corruption and fraud.
The Government of Guyana (GOG) made no arrests or prosecutions for
money laundering in 2007. Guyana currently has inadequate legal and
enforcement mechanisms to combat money laundering, although
legislation tabled in Parliament would significantly enhance these
mechanisms.
The Money Laundering Prevention Act of 2000 (The Act) criminalizes
money laundering related to narcotics trafficking, illicit
trafficking of firearms, extortion, corruption, bribery, fraud,
counterfeiting and forgery. The Act does not specifically cover the
financing of terrorism or all serious crimes in its list of
offenses. Banks are required to report suspicious transactions to
the GOG's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU),and records of
suspicious transaction reports (STRs) must be kept for six years,
but the GOG does not release statistics on the number of STRs
received by the FIU, despite the requirement to make these
statistics available to relevant authorities as mandated by the
Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). The Act also
requires that the cross-border transportation of currency exceeding
$10,000 be reported to the Customs Administration, but does not
allow for the provision of this information to the FIU or other law
enforcement bodies. The Act establishes the Guyana Revenue
Authority, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit, the Attorney General,
the Director for Public Prosecutions and the FIU as the authorities
responsible for investigating financial crimes.
The GOG's anti-money laundering regime is rendered ineffective by
other major structural weaknesses of the Money Laundering Prevention
Act of 2000. While the Act provides for the seizure of assets
derived as proceeds of crime, guidelines for implementing seizures
and forfeitures have never been established. Conviction for a
predicate offense is considered necessary before a money laundering
conviction can be obtained, and the list of such predicate offenses
is cursory. The sharing of essential law enforcement data is not
mandated by the 2000 Act; neither does the FIU have the authority to
exchange information with its foreign counterparts. These
limitations collectively stifle the FIU's analytical and
investigative capabilities, and as a result there have been no money
laundering prosecutions since the FIU was established in 2003.
In order to augment the tools available to the GOG's anti-money
laundering authorities, the FIU drafted legislation entitled the
Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill
2007. The bill provides for the identification, freezing, and
seizure of proceeds of crime and terrorism; establishes
comprehensive powers for the prosecution of money laundering,
terrorist financing, and other financial crimes; requires reporting
entities to take preventive measures to help combat money laundering
and terrorist financing; provides for the civil forfeiture of assets
and expands the scope of the money laundering offense; and mandates
the accessibility of all relevant data among law enforcement
agencies. The legislation provides for oversight of export
industries, the insurance industry, real estate, and alternative
remittance systems, and spells out the penalties for non-compliance.
The bill also establishes the FIU as an independent body that
answers only to the President, and defines in exhaustive detail its
role and powers. The draft legislation was tabled in Parliament in
late 2007, but its chances of passage in the near term are unclear.
In January 2007, the National Assembly passed the Gambling
Prevention (Amendment) Bill, which legalizes casino gambling. The
bill establishes a Gaming Authority authorized to issue casino
licenses to new luxury hotel or resort complexes with a minimum of
150 rooms. Vocal opposition to the bill from religious groups,
opposition parties, and the public included concerns that casino
gambling would provide a front for money launderers. No casinos
have yet opened in Guyana.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bank of Guyana continue to
assist U.S. efforts to combat terrorist financing by working towards
compliance with relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions
(UNSCRs). In 2001 the Bank of Guyana, the sole financial regulator
as designated by the Financial Institutions Act of March 1995,
issued orders to all licensed financial institutions expressly
instructing the freezing of all financial assets of terrorists,
GEORGETOWN 00001075 002 OF 002
terrorist organizations, and individuals and entities associated
with terrorists and their organizations. Guyana has no domestic laws
authorizing the freezing of terrorist assets, but the government
created a special committee on the implementation of UNSCRs,
co-chaired by the Head of the Presidential Secretariat and the
Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To date the
procedures have not been tested, as no terrorist assets have been
identified in Guyana. The FIU director also disseminates the names
of suspected terrorists and terrorist organizations listed on the UN
1267 Sanctions Committee's consolidated list to relevant financial
institutions.
Guyana is a member of the OAS Inter-American Drug Abuse Control
Commission (OAS/CICAD) Experts Group to Control Money Laundering and
the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). Guyana underwent
its second CFATF mutual evaluation in 2004, and the results of the
evaluation were presented at the CFATF plenary in October 2006. The
mutual evaluation team found the GOG to be noncompliant or
materially noncompliant with approximately half of the CFATF
Recommendations.
Guyana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention and the UN
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Guyana has not
signed the UN International Convention for the Suppression of the
Financing of Terrorism or the UN Convention against Corruption. The
GOG has signed, but not yet ratified, the Inter-American Convention
against Terrorism. Guyana's FIU is one of the few in the region that
is not a member of the Egmont Group, and no change in that status is
anticipated until Guyana's anti-money laundering laws have been
modernized.
End text.
2. (U) Post POC is Pol/Econ Officer Rolf Olson.
ROBINSON
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR INL/LP KBROWN AND PWELZANT, WHA/CAR JROSHOLT, S/CT, EEB
JUSTICE FOR AFMLS, OIA, AND OPDAT
TREASURY FOR FINCEN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM EFIN KTFN SNAR GY
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, PART II
REF: STATE 137250
1. (U) Post presents its 2008 International Narcotics Control
Strategy Report, Part II, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes.
Begin text:
Guyana is neither an important regional nor an offshore financial
center, nor does it have any free trade zones. Money laundering is
perceived as a serious problem, and has been linked to trafficking
in drugs, firearms and persons, as well as to corruption and fraud.
The Government of Guyana (GOG) made no arrests or prosecutions for
money laundering in 2007. Guyana currently has inadequate legal and
enforcement mechanisms to combat money laundering, although
legislation tabled in Parliament would significantly enhance these
mechanisms.
The Money Laundering Prevention Act of 2000 (The Act) criminalizes
money laundering related to narcotics trafficking, illicit
trafficking of firearms, extortion, corruption, bribery, fraud,
counterfeiting and forgery. The Act does not specifically cover the
financing of terrorism or all serious crimes in its list of
offenses. Banks are required to report suspicious transactions to
the GOG's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU),and records of
suspicious transaction reports (STRs) must be kept for six years,
but the GOG does not release statistics on the number of STRs
received by the FIU, despite the requirement to make these
statistics available to relevant authorities as mandated by the
Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). The Act also
requires that the cross-border transportation of currency exceeding
$10,000 be reported to the Customs Administration, but does not
allow for the provision of this information to the FIU or other law
enforcement bodies. The Act establishes the Guyana Revenue
Authority, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit, the Attorney General,
the Director for Public Prosecutions and the FIU as the authorities
responsible for investigating financial crimes.
The GOG's anti-money laundering regime is rendered ineffective by
other major structural weaknesses of the Money Laundering Prevention
Act of 2000. While the Act provides for the seizure of assets
derived as proceeds of crime, guidelines for implementing seizures
and forfeitures have never been established. Conviction for a
predicate offense is considered necessary before a money laundering
conviction can be obtained, and the list of such predicate offenses
is cursory. The sharing of essential law enforcement data is not
mandated by the 2000 Act; neither does the FIU have the authority to
exchange information with its foreign counterparts. These
limitations collectively stifle the FIU's analytical and
investigative capabilities, and as a result there have been no money
laundering prosecutions since the FIU was established in 2003.
In order to augment the tools available to the GOG's anti-money
laundering authorities, the FIU drafted legislation entitled the
Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill
2007. The bill provides for the identification, freezing, and
seizure of proceeds of crime and terrorism; establishes
comprehensive powers for the prosecution of money laundering,
terrorist financing, and other financial crimes; requires reporting
entities to take preventive measures to help combat money laundering
and terrorist financing; provides for the civil forfeiture of assets
and expands the scope of the money laundering offense; and mandates
the accessibility of all relevant data among law enforcement
agencies. The legislation provides for oversight of export
industries, the insurance industry, real estate, and alternative
remittance systems, and spells out the penalties for non-compliance.
The bill also establishes the FIU as an independent body that
answers only to the President, and defines in exhaustive detail its
role and powers. The draft legislation was tabled in Parliament in
late 2007, but its chances of passage in the near term are unclear.
In January 2007, the National Assembly passed the Gambling
Prevention (Amendment) Bill, which legalizes casino gambling. The
bill establishes a Gaming Authority authorized to issue casino
licenses to new luxury hotel or resort complexes with a minimum of
150 rooms. Vocal opposition to the bill from religious groups,
opposition parties, and the public included concerns that casino
gambling would provide a front for money launderers. No casinos
have yet opened in Guyana.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bank of Guyana continue to
assist U.S. efforts to combat terrorist financing by working towards
compliance with relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions
(UNSCRs). In 2001 the Bank of Guyana, the sole financial regulator
as designated by the Financial Institutions Act of March 1995,
issued orders to all licensed financial institutions expressly
instructing the freezing of all financial assets of terrorists,
GEORGETOWN 00001075 002 OF 002
terrorist organizations, and individuals and entities associated
with terrorists and their organizations. Guyana has no domestic laws
authorizing the freezing of terrorist assets, but the government
created a special committee on the implementation of UNSCRs,
co-chaired by the Head of the Presidential Secretariat and the
Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To date the
procedures have not been tested, as no terrorist assets have been
identified in Guyana. The FIU director also disseminates the names
of suspected terrorists and terrorist organizations listed on the UN
1267 Sanctions Committee's consolidated list to relevant financial
institutions.
Guyana is a member of the OAS Inter-American Drug Abuse Control
Commission (OAS/CICAD) Experts Group to Control Money Laundering and
the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). Guyana underwent
its second CFATF mutual evaluation in 2004, and the results of the
evaluation were presented at the CFATF plenary in October 2006. The
mutual evaluation team found the GOG to be noncompliant or
materially noncompliant with approximately half of the CFATF
Recommendations.
Guyana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention and the UN
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Guyana has not
signed the UN International Convention for the Suppression of the
Financing of Terrorism or the UN Convention against Corruption. The
GOG has signed, but not yet ratified, the Inter-American Convention
against Terrorism. Guyana's FIU is one of the few in the region that
is not a member of the Egmont Group, and no change in that status is
anticipated until Guyana's anti-money laundering laws have been
modernized.
End text.
2. (U) Post POC is Pol/Econ Officer Rolf Olson.
ROBINSON