IT is rare that the Government and the Opposition in the elected House-the House of Representatives- agree on a measure, but decide to give in to the ’unaminous’ view of the Independent Senators.

But that happened on Friday with a particular provision in the Financial Intelligence Unit Bill. 

The Bill was first approved by the House of Representatives.

But the Senate-principally Independent Senators Dana Seetahal, Subhas Ramkhelawan, Helen Drayton and, to a lesser extent, Corrine Baptiste McKnight and Gail Merhair-worked tirelessly late Wednesday night with the Government led by Attorney General John Jeremie and Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne, and the Opposition, led by Wade Mark, to make crucial amendments to the bill.

When the amendments came back to the elected House, there was one Senate amendment which did not find favour-the provision which limited the FIU to getting staff from the public service via the Public Service Commission. The original proposal was to allow the Minister of hire persons on contract.

Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj expressed concern that the limiting of the FIU to the public service would pose difficulties in getting the kinds of skills needed to run the organisation effectively.

’This is a specialist field and you are tying the hand of the unit behind its back,’ he said.

He added: ’With the greatest respect to the other place, Government has to make a policy decision-is it going to succumb at all times just to be nice, without looking at the issue?’ he asked.

He contended that the FIU was the ’pit’, ’the substance’ and the ’engine’ of the bill designed to fight money-laundering. He urged the Government to explain to the senators that the limiting of the FIU to the public service was wrong.

Jeremie said Maharaj was quite right.

’Government wanted the flexibility in terms of employment. But when we got to the other place (the Senate) we encountered, I think, unanimity in the Independent bench. It is a matter that we feel strongly about. But we need to continue to speak, and to explain to them in greater detail and continue to work with them. But it was necessary for us to make this concession for the bill to be passed in the other place,’ the Attorney General said.

Works Minister Colm Imbert said this issue needed to be revisited.

’As the Attorney General has said, we will continue to talk with the members of the other place to see if the points you (Maharaj) made, which are very valid, can be accommodated,’ Imbert said.

The bill, which required a three-fifths majority, was passed with unanimous support in the Senate and had to be passed and proclaimed on Friday night to beat the international deadline for complying with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). 

Earlier Jeremie, in response to statements from Maharaj about the lack of prosecutions and convictions for money laundering since 2001, said the Counter Task Force established to fight money laundering was active.

Jeremie said there were some 13,400 financial transactions which were brought to its attention as suspicious activity reports.

He said only about 200 of these were investigated, since the other 13,200 were ruled out as being related to any criminal activity.

’So they are investigating perhaps 200 SAR. But they are doing that without legislative support. Because your (former attorney general Maharaj’s) Proceeds of Crime Bill was held to be unconstitutional (in February 2009)’, Jeremie said. 

Maharaj also raised the issue which was found to be true overseas, of charities being used by drug dealers to launder money.

Jeremie said the Terrorism Financial Bill, which is to come, would deal with charities.

Noting that 9/11 took place with the use of charitable financing as a conduit, Jeremie said the Terrorism Financial Bill, which is ready, would address this issue.