Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh today presented the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) 2024 Annual Report to the National Assembly with the report highlighting government’s achievements in the fight against money laundering and other financial crimes tackled under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLCFT) laws of Guyana. With the current People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government now having commenced its second term since resuming office in 2020, the last five years have seen significant focus and investment by the administration to ensure that Guyana’s financial system remains secure and protected from threats.Under the leadership of His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Guyana over the last five years became recognised as the fastest growing economy in the world, given the emergence of its oil and gas sector. The government also, however, recognized the country’s growing significance in the international financial landscape and embraced its responsibility to assist in protecting the international financial system adopting a modern approach as it worked towards modernisation of its economy.In 2024, Dr. Singh emphasized the importance of a modern financial system in the country citing some of the efforts by government to make this possible.“We enacted, for the first time, a modern central bank legislation, new financial institutions act to lay the framework for sound and strong prudential regulation and oversight of the financial sector. We have enacted a new Insurance Act. We enacted a new Securities Industry Act, and of course, subsequently, we will enact a new anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism Act, all of which comprise critical elements of the suite of legislation,” the Minister underscored.He noted as well that government has also been keen on deploying information technology solutions to modernise government operations and enhance transparency while new laws were enacted for procurement, revenue administration, and financial sector regulations. These were all put in place to enhance transparency and accountability as the finance minister explained that Guyana’s experience in rebuilding institutions after a difficult period requires a multi-faceted, sustained effort, but can ultimately lead to significant improvements in governance and the fight against corruption.Government’s efforts over the last five years resulted in– Amendments to the AMLCFT Act in 2022 and 2023 which brought it in line with international standards and requirements.– Enactment of the Guyana Compliance Commission Act and the Guyana Real Estate Authority Act which allowed for the establishments of additional regulatory agencies for previously unregulated sectors, as is required by the FATF standards.– Increased budgetary allocations for the FIU and SOCU to support these agencies’ needs in the form of human resources, training, and technology.– Supervisory Authorities like the BOG, Guyana Securities Council, Guyana Revenue Authority, GGB, GGMC, etc. and other competent authorities like the Deeds and Commercial Registry were provided with strong and consistent support in ensuring they are adequately resourced to support their respective mandates in the fight against money laundering and related financial crimes.– Guyana was accepted as a member of the Egmont Group of FIUs in February 2024, a historic achievement which now allows Guyana, through its FIU, to cooperate and share intelligence directly with counterparts in over 170 countries, on matters relating to money laundering, terrorist financing, and related financial crimes.– Guyana was subjected to its 4th Round Mutual Evaluation by the CFATF to assess how well the country had implemented measures (40 standards) required by the FATF to be in place to protect the international financial system from the threat of ML and TF. The assessment also reviewed the level of effectiveness of the implementation of these measuress. This review was considered very favorable for Guyana, who was commended by the CFATF membership and other international partners for the commendable efforts demonstrated by Guyana in prioritizing and implementing a robust AMLCFT framework aimed at protecting the international financial system from the threats of ML and TF.– Based on the above, this country now has one of the strongest AMLCFT systems in the region that has resulted in consistent progress in the investigation, prosecution and seizure of assets presumed to be linked to crime and criminals. This success was recognized in November 2024 when Guyana was the recipient of the CFATF’s Best Regional AMLCFT (BREMOLT) Case Award which recognizes the CFATF member country that demonstrated all actions required to effectively investigate and prosecute a case involving a financial crime including money laundering and terrorism financing.In October, President Ali reaffirmed Guyana’s unwavering commitment to maintaining Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace, while making clear that the country will also stand firm against transnational crime, the illicit drug trade, and any form of destabilisation threatening regional stability. The President at the time was delivering the feature address at the Commissioning Parade for Standard Officers’ Course (SOC) No 56 at Base Camp Ayanganna.“We will protect every inch of Guyana’s territory with vigilance and resolve. We will deploy technology to make our country more secure. We will be adaptable, smart, and ready to respond, on land, at sea, in the air, and in cyberspace,” the President affirmed.In the PPP/C’s 2025 Manifesto, Government recommitted to combat corruption as it highlighted that it intends to ‘strengthen laws where needed; establish an anti-corruption unit: use technology such as blockchain to aid transparency, reduce bureaucracy, and improve efficiency; and fully enforce the Access to Information Act.The post Finance Minister tables 2024 FIU Annual Report appeared first on News Room Guyana.