Jersey has a 'mature and sophisticated regime for tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism' according to a report published today by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL).
The 300-page report presents the findings of a comprehensive evaluation which included an on-site assessment of Jersey in January 2015 and covered certain aspects of the island’s institutional, legislative and regulatory framework to deter money laundering and the financing of terrorism through financial institutions.
Assessed on 49 standards, Jersey was found to be fully compliant in 16, largely compliant in 32, and partially compliant in one – there were no standards against which the island was found to be non-compliant. This gave Jersey the top ranking compared to EU member states.
One of these standards is that of beneficial ownership, and the MONEYVAL report refers to Jersey as being in 'a leading position in meeting [the] standard of beneficial ownership transparency'.
Speaking at a press briefing this afternoon (24 May) at the Jersey Financial Services Commission, the States of Jersey Chief Minister, Senator Ian Gorst, said: "This is a good day. Jersey is the top tier of jurisdictions – proof that we not only say that we adhere to the highest standards, but that we are living it day by day.
In a press statement, John Harris, Director General of the Jersey Financial Services Commission, remarked: "We are very pleased that the extensive MONEYVAL process has concluded with this very positive report which more than stands comparison with all other financial centres in terms of performance against FATF recommendations. A huge amount of hard work by all the relevant island agencies has contributed to this excellent result which puts Jersey in a tremendous position to develop further what MONEYVAL acknowledges is already a high standard AML/CFT regime."
One area for improvement highlighted in the report is the relatively low number of money laundering convictions and confiscations – a matter which the island’s authorities have already committed to resolve.
In the joint press release, Attorney General, Robert MacRae QC, stated: "We welcome the report’s recommendations. We will be working together with the relevant authorities to further combat financial crime in order to increase the number of cases resulting in convictions and confiscations. Indeed, since the on-site visit in January 2015 there have been several money laundering prosecutions resulting in one conviction for money laundering in 2015 and four in 2016, including the ground breaking Windward Trading case, where £3.6 million was confiscated."
Another area flagged for attention was that of 'effectiveness'., most notably with regard to customer due diligence and raising awareness within the private sector.
The recommendations made in the MONEYVAL report were addressed in the press briefing by George Pearmain, Lead Policy Adviser, Private Wealth and Financial Crime at the States of Jersey, who pointed towards a number of initiatives that would be consulted upon and how a full and comprehensive assessment would take place in the next couple of years, with new legislation introduced if it was deemed necessary.
Senator Ian Gorst, Chief Minister, concluded: "In line with the recommendations of this report, the Government of Jersey has committed to the injection of further resources into the work of tackling financial crime, which we undertake in close partnership with the Attorney General, the States of Jersey Police and the JFSC. If there is room for improvement in this area, then we are determined to address that, so that we can continue to build on our reputation as a responsible, world-class international finance centre."
A summary of the Jersey MONEYVAL report from the Jersey Financial Services Commission and the States of Jersey can be found here.
The full MONEYVAL report can be viewed here. Alternatively, an Executive Summary can be found here.