Jersey Finance welcomes Moneyval endorsement of beneficial ownership framework

Friday 27 May 2016

A major new report published by Moneyval underlines Jersey’s ability to combat financial crime through a sophisticated system of capturing ownership information about entities and structures in the jurisdiction, according to Jersey Finance.

Published on Tuesday, the report, from the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL), finds that Jersey’s beneficial ownership regime puts it at the forefront of the transparency agenda.

The report states: “Jersey’s combination of a central register of the UBO with a high level of vetting/evaluation not found elsewhere and regulation of TCSPs of a standard found in few other jurisdictions has been widely recognised by international organisations and individual jurisdictions as placing Jersey in a leading position in meeting standard of beneficial ownership transparency.” 

The 300-page report also highlights that Jersey is compliant or largely compliant with 48 of the 49 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations (2003), placing it in the top tier of jurisdictions assessed under those criteria, whilst also concluding that Jersey is “a well-established international financial centre, with a mature and sophisticated AML/CFT regime”.

Publication of the report is the culmination of a comprehensive and rigorous evaluation which began in January 2015 and which examined both the legislative and regulatory frameworks in Jersey and the effectiveness of those frameworks in combating financial crime.

Geoff Cook, CEO, Jersey Finance, said: “This is an excellent report for Jersey, coming from the Council of Europe’s experts in this area and placing it unequivocally in the top tier of jurisdictions globally regarding transparency and countering financial crime. Not only does it confirm that Jersey’s beneficial ownership regime is of a uniquely high calibre globally, it also reflects that the wider frameworks and supervisory systems in place set it apart from most other jurisdictions.

“In a rapidly shifting global landscape, however, there is no room for complacency, and in that vein, where the report does make recommendations, in particular in some quite specific measures to look at higher volumes of prosecutions and confiscations, I am pleased that there is already progress in those areas in tandem with implementing the more recent revised FATF recommendations and the EU 4^th Money Laundering Directive. The message is clear, Jersey is at the cutting edge in terms of combating financial crime and intends to maintain that leading position.”