`Guyana has demonstrated that it will not tolerate corruption, especially related to public officials. Guyana has won the Best-Case Award in the Caribbean region for its efforts in fighting money-laundering and anti-corruption…’
Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC has rejected claims in the annual US State Department report on money laundering and corruption.
He said that Guyana does not tolerate corruption, is doing much to bolster systems to fight the drugs trade and money laundering (ML) and anyone alleging ML links to public officials must prove this.
“Any statement (linking ML to corruption amongst public officials),must be substantiated by empirical/anecdotal evidence…,” Nandlall said in response to questions from Stabroek News.
“Guyana has demonstrated that it will not tolerate corruption, especially related to public officials. Guyana has won the Best-Case Award in the Caribbean region for its efforts in fighting money-laundering and anti-corruption, particularly in relation to actions taken against former Assistant Commissioner of Police Calvin Brutus,” he added.
The Attorney General asserted that where there are cases of corruption and money laundering, authorities here have “acted with all alacrity to take the proportionate and appropriate actions against the individuals,” alluding to the case concerning the former Assistant Commissioner of Police.
Nandlall was responding to the United States Department of State’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) 2025 whichstates that Guyana needs to do more to combat the entrenched drug trade and money laundering and flagged the lack of transparency in public procurement processes.
Released in March, the report said that Guyana, while not officially condoning or facilitating the narcotics trade, still has a lot to do given its weak systems and underpaid public officials who are easily lured by the financial appeal of the drug trade.
The AG took umbrage at what he saw as the report’s attempt to link ML to holders of public offices and corruption without citing or adumbrating the overwhelming cases which led to the report’sconclusion, referring to it as “more speculative and sensational reportage.”
He noted the reference made in the report of the United States Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) sanctioning of person(s)/companies here, stating that itis a “fact of public notoriety that almost immediately upon the announcement of that announcement, the Government of Guyana made a public statement that it will engage mutual legal assistance with the United States’ law enforcement agencies on these matters.”
Collaboration
He added, “This collaboration has commenced and is ongoing. Importantly, government took immediate action in disengaging with the sanctioned persons/companies in relation to extant relations in certain sectors in order to insulate Guyana’s financial system from any adverse consequences flowing from those sanctions. The Guyana Revenue Authority [GRA], the Financial Intelligence Unit [FIU] and the Special Organised Crime Unit [SOCU] are currently collaborating and investigating these matters.”
Nandlall pointed out that thatvery INCSR did recognise that in comparison with other countries in the report, Guyana has implemented robust structures to detect, prevent and deter ML, including, implementation of many measures such as: “i) criminalising drug-money laundering, ii) implementing know-your-customer provisions, iii) reporting suspicious transactions, iv) maintaining records over time, v) implementing cross-border transportation of currency, vi) implementing beneficial ownership data collection & retention provisions, vii) compliance with international law cooperations, viii) implementing systems for identifying/forfeiting assets, ix) implementing arrangements for asset sharing, x) becoming a party to information exchange agreements with non-US governments, xi) becoming a party to the 1988 United Nations Drug Convention, and xii) becoming a party to UNTOC [United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime] and UNCAC [United Nations Convention against Corruption].”
He also contended that there is no need for anyone to speculate in relation to Guyana’s AML/CFT [Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism] credentials. “These were recently scrupulously examined over a period of 18 months, from September 2022 to June 2024, in a mutual evaluation exercise conducted by the …premier regulatory body in this hemisphere – the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). In this process, every aspect of Guyana’s AML/CFT framework was critically scrutinised, including our legislative framework, our administrative processes, our investigative capabilities, and our law enforcement and prosecutorial capacities.”
He further posited, “Additionally, various critical sectors were interrogated, including the mining, banking, and real estate sectors, revenue collection, gaming authorities, and the Commercial and Deeds Registries. For example, Guyana has bolstered its Beneficial Ownership [BO] legislative provisions by requiring covered entities to identify and verify beneficial ownership information for legal persons and legal arrangements. The Commercial Registry has exercised various powers – primarily, the right of refusal and the power of issuing warnings, and ultimately striking companies from the register for failure to provide basic and beneficial ownership information, which has resulted in significant improvement of compliance by companies, with over 2,000 companies filing BO information from 2023 to present.”
Further, he noted that even Guyana’s inter-agency as well as inter-country cooperation mechanisms were examined. “Issues such as beneficial ownership were specifically evaluated. In the end, Guyana was given a clean bill of health. In fact, Guyana fared better than most of its Caribbean counterparts.”
The AG further argued that the US report failed to consider the CFATF assessment. “Significantly, this positive appraisal comes from the appropriate and authorised global regulator for this hemisphere, and therefore, in my respectful view, constitutes the authoritative and conclusive diagnosis of Guyana’s AML/CFT credentials. The INCS Report should have taken guidance from CFATF’s mutual assessment of Guyana, which is publicly available on CFATF’s website. CFATF’s assessment of Guyana received the approbation of the Financial Action Task Force – the global regulator of this sector”, he declared.
Last month, according to Nandlall,an Article IV Mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) examined, inter alia, Guyana’s AML/CFT’s framework and performance. The findings of that body, he emphasised, are “strikingly different from the INSCR Report.”
And coming out of the CFATF’smutual evaluation process, the AG assured that Guyana remains deeply committed to continue to vigilantly implement all global recommendations and make such legislative, policy and administrative changes that may be necessary to continue to strengthen this country’sAML/CFT capacity and readiness to battle organised crime and corruption.
“In fact, as we speak, our AML/CFT National Coordination Committee, of which I am the Chair, is fervently working to implement recommendations made during the mutual evaluation exercise as well as to rectify the identified deficiencies. Later this year, Guyana will be expected to provide a status update report to CFATF on this ongoing work,” he related.
Significant obstacle
The US report asserted that corruption in Guyana poses a “significant obstacle” to its efforts to combat drug trafficking. “Corruption within law enforcement, bribery, and nepotism in the public sector and political entities further complicate the fight against drug trafficking. Authorities often drop charges or never file them and do not conduct serious investigations; traffickers are able to evade prosecution. Additionally, the economic appeal of the drug trade in Guyana, with its high poverty rate and low-paying public sector jobs, leads individuals to become involved in illicit activities and hinders efforts to curb trafficking.”
It added: “Guyana’s deeply entrenched illicit drug trade contributes significantly to increased crime and corruption. The government can fight drug trafficking by enhancing law enforcement and customs capability through port security improvements, intelligence operations with regional and international partners, implementing stronger anti- corruption measures, and strengthening its legislation relating to drug trafficking sentencing, to make it less attractive”.
INCSR also stated that money laundering poses significant challenges to Guyana and continues to affect the nation’s economy and governance. It noted that money laundering in Guyana is often linked to corruption and organized crime, and has grown into a systemic issue involving both public officials and private citizens.
“Guyana’s location within South America, the presence of drug trafficking routes, and its cash-dependent economy also make it susceptible to illicit money flows. The country’s anti- money laundering (AML) infrastructure, while improving, continues to face challenges due to limited technological resources, weak oversight, and a lack of transparency in public procurement processes”, the report said.
