GEORGETOWN – President Dr. Irfaan Ali yesterday declared war on foreign exchange abuse and capital flight, unveiling a sweeping nine-point plan aimed at fortifying Guyana’s financial system. The emergency measures come in response to an explosive increase in foreign currency demand and what the government has flagged as suspicious, high-volume transactions, particularly through credit cards.
The Head of State convened a high-stakes meeting with key financial stakeholders, including Governor Dr. Gobin Ganga of the Bank of Guyana (BoG), Commissioner-General Mr. Godfrey Statia of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), and executives from all major commercial banks. The message was clear: Guyana’s banking sector must implement immediate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to enhance transparency and stem the tide of illicit outflows.
The Alarming Numbers Driving the Crackdown
President Ali painted a stark picture of the recent pressure on the foreign exchange market, highlighting data gathered by a specially convened interagency Task Force. He noted that while the government has intervened aggressively to meet demand, injecting US$332 million in 2024, which rose sharply to US$1.2 billion in 2025 (with another $160 million pending), the demand continues to soar.
The most shocking revelation concerned the use of credit cards. The President pointed to a nearly fourfold surge in credit card clearance, skyrocketing from approximately US$91.3 million in 2023 to a staggering US$347.5 million in 2024. For 2025, the figure has already hit nearly US$252 million.
“We’ve also noticed massive growth in credit card transactions,” the President stated, expressing concern that personal credit cards may be inappropriately used to settle large business transactions, a loophole he vowed to close.
Nine New Rules to Secure the Economy
To control the hemorrhaging of capital, the President outlined nine stringent measures that commercial banks must now enforce. These are designed to ensure every foreign exchange transaction is legitimately tied to real economic activity:
1. Invoice First: Any request for foreign exchange by a customer for the importation of goods must now be accompanied by a commercial invoice, which the bank will use to release the currency.
2. Double Verification for Imports: Upon the arrival of goods in Guyana, customers must submit copies of both the invoice and the Bill of Laden to the GRA and the commercial bank for verification.
3. No Release Without Compliance: If a customer fails to submit the certified invoice, Bill of Laden, and a GRA compliance certification, the bank is strictly barred from releasing the requested foreign exchange.
4. Central Bank Oversight: Commercial banks must submit copies of the Bill of Laden and commercial invoices to the Bank of Guyana for further verification. The BoG will establish a new system to reconcile all records from banks and the GRA.
5. Strict Credit Card Policing: Commercial banks must ensure personal credit cards are used exclusively for personal transactions, strictly prohibiting their use for settling business obligations.
6. Penalties for Fraud: Severe penalties will be levied against entities found responsible for using related party transactions and inflated invoicing as a means of capital flight.
7. Source Declaration: Individuals taking foreign currency out of Guyana must formally declare the source of the funds being exported.
8. Local Content Banking Mandate: Entities registered under local content laws that are providing services to the oil and gas sector must maintain a local bank account where all foreign currency earnings shall be remitted. The government plans to amend the local content legislation to solidify this requirement.
9. Single-Window Clearing: A single window post-clearing system will be established at the Central Bank to ensure that all prior transactions between the GRA, commercial banks, and the BoG are fully reconciled before any new foreign exchange request can be facilitated.
Bank representatives present at the meeting, which was also attended by Minister Zulfikar Ally, reportedly expressed full support for the measures, acknowledging that the new SOPs will help ease some of the systemic difficulties they are currently facing.
