Finance regulator reveals civil fine plans

Friday 13 February 2015

The Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) has issued a Consultation Paper setting out the principles it will apply and the decision-making processes it will follow under the new civil financial penalties regime.

This new regime will give the JFSC the power to impose civil financial penalties on regulated businesses that seriously contravene regulatory requirements set by the JFSC in Codes of Practice.

The consultation sets out the principles that the JFSC will apply when determining whether to impose a financial penalty and, if so, in what amount. The principles will require the JFSC to consider, amongst other things, how serious the alleged contravention was, what aggravating or mitigating actions had been taken by the regulated business and the ability of the regulated business to bear a financial penalty.

The consultation also sets out the processes that the JFSC will follow when a regulated business is accused of having seriously contravened a Code of Practice and, as a result, the JFSC is considering the imposition of a financial penalty as the most appropriate regulatory sanction. The processes are designed to ensure that the regulated business is given a proper opportunity to see the evidence against it and to make representations to the JFSC, and for those representations to be considered fully and fairly.

The Consultation Paper can be viewed on the JFSC’s website here. Hard copies of the Consultation Paper are available upon request.

Responses to the consultation are requested by Monday 16 March 2015.