UK Expert alarmed…Guyana has never utilized its anti-money laundering legislation

By Kiana Wilburg A UK expert on Asset Recovery is currently gathering information on Guyana’s systems for thwarting corruption as well as examining how much use law enforcement agencies have made of its legislation in this regard. Mr. Brian Horne is appalled at his findings. “I don’t think at the moment there have been any prosecutions or use of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Legislation (AML/CFT). My understanding is that there hasn’t been a case using those provisions which are in place.” “Now I would ask myself in this regard why not? The legislation has been in place since 2009 and there hasn’t been any prosecution. Why? It might be a rhetorical question but it is still curious to know that you have the legislation but have not used it.” Mr. Horne, who is a Guyanese by birth, and has worked in more than 22 countries in the field of State assets recovery and the successful prosecution of the defaulters said that he found such a situation to be “alarming.” “The reason for passing legislation is because you think there are matters you need to tend to, and you need the legislation in order to deal with the issues as you saw it. But if you have the legislation and you don’t utilize it, it makes people think why not?” “With my background in the UK, if a piece of legislation is implemented it is because it is relevant to something that needs to be dealt with and it needs to be used…but perhaps one of the reasons it wasn’t used was the lack of skills and technical staff to implement the work the legislation was intended to do, but that is just speculation on my part.” The UK asset recovery advisor said that his role is really going to be using that piece of AML legislation to inform any subsequent legislation that he may recommend to strengthen Guyana’s State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU).

Horne said that efforts to bring formal structure to an anti-corruption unit in Guyana, is a move in the right direction. In an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News, Horne premised the aforementioned on the fact that Guyana has to comply with international standards. He said that especially with corruption occurring globally, it is expected that Guyana would have provisions in place to prevent acts of corruption from taking place. In this light, the UK expert emphasized that an anticorruption body is a “positive move” as it will not only thwart corruption but also “strip illegal assets from those who are involved in it.” He noted however that it will take time, “so the people must have patience and not expect results tomorrow.” Horne explained that he will be focused on examining Guyana’s systems in place for fighting corruption and gathering other information.

At the end of this exercise, he will make recommendation for Guyana’s State Asset Recovery Unit’s (SARU) transition to being the country’s formal anticorruption body. Elaborating a bit more on his role with SARU in terms of strengthening its power, Horne added, “My remit with SARU is to first of all, look at what architecture presently exists in Guyana with regard to asset recovery and then get involved in the drafting of legislation which would provide the basis for the formal structure of it.” “It’s a bit too early for clear-cut recommendations because I don’t have as yet, a full grasp of the picture here in terms of legislation, nor what is being done and how or what is being used from what is available. From that understanding, I will be able to make firm recommendations about how the SARU should operate.” The UK expert noted, however, that the immediate matters which come to mind are what appears to be the distinct lack of technical skills or appropriate forensic skills in utilizing the law as it relates to conducting assets tracing and then utilizing that information in the court process. He said that also part of his remit will be developing international relations with his contacts outside of Guyana and to see how they may be able to assist in supporting Guyana and its efforts in the asset recovery process.

He said that it is going to be a process that will not be completed overnight. “It will take some time.” With regard to the development of SARU, Horne said that down the line, there will be some training issues. “Because there will be the need for staff with the capacity to deliver the kind of work that the SARU will be required to do.” “The SARU really will be an anti-corruption body and will look for corruption where ever it is; be it in private industry or ministry. So it will be a broad based agency as I see it. It won’t be directed to any one person or organization or agency. It will have the capacity to deal with corruption where ever it is discovered.” The UK expert said that when it comes to the fight against corruption by SARU, three things will be essential; technical staff, legislation and security. “You need to have the correct legislation to deal with the relevant offences and for the law to be amended where necessary, because things change all of the time. The second thing that would be needed is having the appropriate staff in place with the capacity to actually deliver when dealing with criminal matters be it tax evasion for example.” SECURITY OF DATA “The other important aspect is security.

There is going to have to be significant security of location, personnel, equipment used, either phones or electronic equipment to ensure that they are “clean,” because people who are involved in criminal activity will do anything to get information about what’s happening and utilize that information accordingly. So the state must try to put itself in a position where it can act in confidence.” Horne said that SARU will have to be funded so that it is properly resourced in terms of equipment and in terms of staff being remunerated sufficiently so that they would not be tempted. He said that this, among other issues, will have to be carefully considered when setting up one of these agencies.