Financial Crime World

Guyana FIU Identifies Potential Links to Terrorism Financing through Various Mechanisms

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in Guyana has identified potential links to terrorism financing through various mechanisms, including the use of Special Recommendation 6 (SR VI) and other international standards.

Mechanisms for Identifying Terrorist Financing

  • The FIU checks against the United Nations Consolidated List for designations related to terrorist organizations and individuals.
  • The unit monitors the UN Press Releases link daily for updates, additions, deletions, or amendments to the list, and communicates any changes electronically without delay to reporting entities through their respective supervisory authorities.

Training and Investigation

  • The FIU’s system generates alerts for further investigation by analysts who have received training on terrorism financing (TF).
  • While no alerts have been triggered so far, the unit is vigilant in its efforts to detect and prevent TF activities.

International Cooperation

  • Between 2018 and April 2023, the FIU did not send any international requests for information related to TF but received five requests from other Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs).
  • The unit responded promptly to all requests, taking into account their urgent nature.
  • The report highlights the importance of international cooperation in combating terrorism financing.

Local Efforts

  • There have been no matches of persons or entities listed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) conducting transactions locally.
  • In 2020, the FIU responded to two requests from a regional FIU for information on subjects believed to be involved in TF. Search results did not indicate any negative information on the subjects.

Collaboration with Other Agencies

  • The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is responsible for the prosecution of serious offenses, including those related to TF and PF.
  • The Customs Anti-Narcotics Agency (CANU) engages in information sharing with agencies responsible for Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).

Conclusion

  • While there have been no instances of actual terrorism financing investigated by SOCU between 2018 and April 2023, the unit has implemented measures to improve its ability to combat matters related to TF and PF.