-as crime networks grow more sophisticated
Guyana on Wednesday assumed the presidency of the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for the Caribbean (ARIN-CARIB), bringing together prosecutors, judges, law enforcement officials and financial crime experts from across the region to strengthen cooperation against transnational organised crime and improve the recovery of criminal assets.
The three-day Annual General Meeting and Steering Group Meeting, being held at the Guyana Marriott Hotel under the theme, “From Tracing to Transformation: Building an Asset Recovery-Ready Caribbean,” is examining ways to strengthen international cooperation, asset recovery systems and cross-border investigations.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall SC shared that the Government is undertaking comprehensive amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act to modernise Guyana’s asset recovery framework, strengthen confiscation powers, improve investigative authorities and ensure the country’s legislation remains aligned with evolving Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards ahead of the fifth round of mutual evaluations.
Nandlall said Guyana has made significant investments in strengthening its anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism framework through legislative reforms, enhanced institutional coordination, expanded international cooperation and increased capacity building among agencies responsible for financial investigations. He said the Attorney General’s Chambers, Financial Intelligence Unit, Guyana Police Force, Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU), Guyana Revenue Authority and other agencies continue to work together to identify, restrain, confiscate and recover the proceeds of crime.
The Attorney General also announced that staffing has been approved for the Guyana Compliance Commission, which will strengthen oversight of designated non-financial businesses and professions through enhanced supervision and compliance monitoring. He said the commission will also play an important role in regulating virtual assets and virtual asset service providers as Guyana’s legislative reforms progress.
Warning that financial crime extends beyond narcotics trafficking, Nandlall said Guyana is increasingly concerned about illegal gold smuggling, trade-based money laundering, corruption and other illicit financial flows linked to organised criminal groups. He noted that the authorities must ensure criminals are deprived of the proceeds of offences ranging from drug trafficking to environmental crime, illegal mining and financial fraud.
He described Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) as one of the region’s most effective tools for combating organised crime, saying investigators and prosecutors from different jurisdictions should work together from the beginning of investigations to share intelligence, preserve evidence and coordinate the restraint of criminal assets before they are moved across borders.
Deputy Executive Director of the Regional Security System (RSS), Atlee Rodney, said criminal organisations continue to exploit national borders and urged Caribbean states to strengthen legislative frameworks, expand training and deepen international cooperation. He disclosed that the RSS has already trained more than 200 criminal justice practitioners in the use of Joint Investigation Teams to improve regional investigative capacity.
Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Ali-Hack said successful prosecutions depend on high-quality investigations supported by effective cooperation among law enforcement agencies. She urged participants to use the meeting to strengthen regional partnerships that result in successful prosecutions and the confiscation of criminal assets.
Discussion