Courts told to expect more applications to freeze, seize criminal assets – News Room Guyana
Attorney General Anil Nandlall says Guyana’s courts should prepare for a significant increase in applications seeking to freeze bank accounts, detain property and ultimately confiscate assets believed to be connected to criminal activity.
Nandlall made the remarks on Tuesday while reflecting on the just concluded 27th Regional Conference of the Americas for INTERPOL, held in Guyana on September 23 and 24, where the focus on tracing criminal money and assets featured prominently.
INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza highlighted the growing links between drug trafficking and illicit mining and the need for law enforcement to move beyond simply seizing illegal commodities and instead “follow the money” and identify criminal assets.
According to Nandlall, this approach is increasingly becoming a focus across regional and international law-enforcement and criminal-justice institutions.
“Repeated applications will now be made to the various courts across the judicial spectrum for orders such as freezing orders to freeze bank accounts, detention orders to detain properties, as well as forfeiture orders to confiscate properties that are implicated in or are considered proceeds of crime and criminality,” he said.
He said prosecutors are being trained to pursue these types of cases while Guyana is also working on amendments to its anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism framework, with greater emphasis on forfeiture of assets and proceeds of crime.
Nandlall said magistrates and judges must also become familiar with the developing legal framework.
He acknowledged that some of the statutory measures may be viewed as restrictive, but argued that they form part of the legal framework being developed to tackle increasingly sophisticated criminal enterprises.
“The successful combating of crime requires the participation of many organs and agencies,” Nandlall said, identifying the Guyana Police Force, Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit, Guyana Revenue Authority, Financial Intelligence Unit, Special Organised Crime Unit and Guyana Geology and Mines Commission among the agencies involved.
He said those agencies must be supported by personnel capable of conducting sophisticated forensic, ballistic and financial analysis, while prosecutors must be equipped to present such evidence before the courts.
Nandlall said the criminal justice system must adapt because criminal organisations are investing heavily in technology and exploiting new innovations.
“The criminals are investing heavily in technology, in equipment, and they’re exploiting every new innovation available,” he said.
The Attorney General said the INTERPOL conference was therefore timely and reflected what he described as a more unified approach to fighting organised crime across the Americas.
Source: NEW ROOMS SITE
