Amendments to anti-money laundering legislation to be laid soon – Attorney General

and Ten compared to previous years where patients requiring dialysis were forced to travel to the city to seek care and treatment.

If a person has Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), the kidneys are unable to filter the blood to remove harmful waste products and excess fluids which are turned into urine to be passed out of the body. Dialysis treatment then becomes an alternative procedure to remove waste products and excess fluids from the blood when the kidneys stop working properly. It is a process that involves diverting blood to a machine to be cleaned.

Last year, some 327 patients benefited from the annual $600,000 payout, Persons requiring support for dialysis treatment can contact the Ministry’s Medical Treatment Department on 225 0113 for more information on how they can receive financial assistance.

As part of the PPP/C Administration’s commitment to combat financial crime and money laundering on all fronts, government will soon lay amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act in the National Assembly.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, made the disclosure on Tuesday (February 28, 2023).

He explained that the Regional Security System (RSS) met with the Attorney General’s Chambers recently and several gaps were identified in Guyana’s AML/CFT legislative land- scape. “We have begun to work immediately in correcting those gaps. They have offered us recommendations and we are working to implement those recommendations in the form of legislative amendments. “That is work in progress and soon, two pieces of amendments will be taken to the National Assembly,” the Attorney General disclosed.

The amendments will strengthen Guyana’s capability to counter money laundering and other financial crimes.

In addition, the Specialised Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) will be receiving technical support from the RSS.

“They have engaged with SOCU and they offered technical assistance whenever requested and they also have said that they will offer attachment programmes, whereby SOCU officers can go to the RSS and do attachments with them to enhance their capacity and training …of course, we will take advantage of that offer” he highlighted.

Guyana was recently accepted as a member of the RSS and is also a part of the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of the Caribbean (ARIN-CARIB) steering group.

BOG has the supply of US dollars to meet demand

The Bank of Guyana (BOG) has noted the claims by some businesses in the press that there is a shortage of US dollars in the banking system. The BOG would like to reiterate that the banking system with an average monthly turnover in excess of USD500 million, has an adequate supply of US dollars to meet demand.

As of February 22, 2023, the banking system had USD 99.5 million available for transactions. BOG would like to state that while the available funds are not evenly distributed among the banks, there is enough to cover the cash flow needs of transactions arising from businesses in Guyana.

Cash flowing to the banks is cyclical, as such there will be periods of excess liquidity and periods when there will be a limited supply.

The Bank continues to monitor the foreign currency position in Guyana to ensure there is no disruption nor adverse impact on economic activities.