Attorney General Anil Nandlall has announced that Guyana is moving swiftly to replace its existing anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) legislation with a new, comprehensive bill, as the country faces growing threats from organised crime, terrorist financing and money laundering.
Speaking at the opening of the PACE Justice Regional Programme Judicial Training on Criminal Trials and Appeals on Monday, Nandlall said the current law, while not fundamentally flawed, has been amended so many times over the years that it has become difficult to interpret.
“Not that the one that we have is bad, but we have cut and paste over the years so many things that it reads in a disjointed way and it can cause problems in terms of interpretation,” he said.
A consultant has already been engaged and is currently working on drafting the replacement legislation. The overhaul is also being driven by changes in global standards and by Guyana’s preparation for a mutual evaluation exercise scheduled for 2027. Nandlall said preparatory work has already begun, noting that in the last assessment conducted by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force in 2024, Guyana scored the highest among independent Caribbean territories — providing a strong foundation to build on.
The Attorney General urged judges to fully appreciate the broad scope of AML/CFT laws, describing money laundering as one of the widest offences on the statute books and noting that the legislation grants authorities powerful tools including detention and asset forfeiture even before a conviction is secured.
“The powers conferred are indeed intrusive and can be evasive when you compare them with ordinary legislation,” he said, while emphasising that these powers must remain consistent with the Constitution.
Nandlall stressed that the laws are grounded in international principles set by global organisations that monitor financial crimes and regulatory systems, and are not developed in isolation.
