News

Articles from 2020

Sanctions Notice - Venezuela Sanctions

1st July 2020
Please be advised that the EU Council has imposed an asset freeze and travel ban against 11 Venezuelan officials determined to be responsible for serious violations of human rights and restrictions on fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of press and speech, under Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/897 which implements Council Regulation (EU) 2017/2063. The EU Regulation is implemented in...

Financial Crime Risk Return 2020

26th June 2020
The Financial Crime Risk Return for the reporting period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 (the “Return”) will be available for completion on the Online Submissions Portal in July 2020. The submission deadline is 31 October 2020. Following the Commission's previous announcements, updates made to the 2020 Return include additional questions regarding the different classifications of politically exposed...

PQ upgrade, Single Sign-On and online Terms and Conditions functionality for users of both the Online Submissions ('OS') and PQ Portals

22nd June 2020
The PQ Portal upgrade has been completed. If you are a PQ Portal user you will notice significant changes to the portal and forms. More details about the new PQ features can be found in the guidance note on our website by clicking here . As previously advised, if you have accounts in both the OS and PQ Portals and use different email addresses for each, it is now possible to link those accounts...

Handbook on Countering Financial Crime and Terrorist Financing

19th June 2020
The Commission has today, issued in final form, the revised Handbook on Countering Financial Crime and Terrorist Financing (“the Handbook”). The Commission has made these amendments, to the Handbook, in order to take into account the Bailiwick of Guernsey’s National Risk Assessment (“NRA”) on money laundering (“ML”) and the financing of terrorism (“FT”) which was published in January 2020. These...

Alan Michael Chick and The Guernsey Financial Services Commission

15th June 2020
On 12 June 2020, the Royal Court found in favour of the Commission’s application to have the above matter struck out. Mr Chick had brought a claim, against the Commission, that the enforcement proceedings which were found against him on 31 May 2018 amounted to a breach of his human rights. The matter was struck out for having no basis in law. This ruling provides clarification on the position of...

New Fast Track Application Regime for Managers of Overseas Collective Investment Schemes

12th June 2020
New Fast Track Application Regime for Managers of Overseas Collective Investment Schemes: 12 June 2020 The Commission is pleased to announce the launch of a new fast track application regime for managers of Overseas Collective Investment Schemes to make it simpler for them to apply for a Guernsey licence. The intention of the regime is to combine where appropriate the consent to migrate the...

Global Insurance Group Limited, Christopher Schofield, Andrew William Robert

11th June 2020
On the 8th day of June 2020 the Commission has imposed discretionary financial penalties on the following parties:- • £42,000 on Global Insurance Group Limited; • £17,500 on Christopher Schofield; and • £10,500 on Andrew William Robert As a result of failures to meet the Minimum Criteria for Licensing in respect of Schedule 7 of The Insurance Business (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002 . More...

Standard Chartered Trust (Guernsey) Limited

9th June 2020
On the 4 day of June 2020 the Commission imposed, on an agreed basis, a discretionary financial penalty (under section 11D of The Financial Services Commission (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1987) on Standard Chartered Trust (Guernsey) Limited of £140,000. This was as a result of historical failures to meet the Minimum Criteria for Licensing in respect of Schedule 1 of The Regulation of Fiduciaries...

Resumption of onsite inspections

8th June 2020
The Commission’s Financial Crime Division is recommencing its routine financial crime inspections to firms with immediate effect. Routine inspections were suspended on 19 March 2020 to enable firms to deal with the immediate operational impact of the coronavirus lockdown. Financial Crime inspections are resuming now as the finance industry has demonstrated its resilience and firms have generally...