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...
Pension
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...
Handbook on Countering Financial Crime and Terrorist Financing
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...
Resumption of onsite inspections
Following our announcement of 24 March 2020: https://www.gfsc.gg/news/commission-allows-more-time-firms-complete-key-financial-returns], the Commission has been pleased to note the resilience of the Bailiwick’s finance sector including the widespread ability to work from home effectively. This operational resilience, taken together with recent States of Guernsey announcements regarding exit from...
Updated Commission deadlines for Key Financial Returns
The Financial Action Task Force ("FATF") has released a guidance paper regarding COVID-19-related money laundering and terrorist financing risks, which can be accessed directly on the FATF website. This paper and other FATF guidance can be found within the FATF Guidance section of the Commission's Legislation and Guidance page.
FATF Guidance - COVID-19-related Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks
The Commission is undertaking a short consultation on changes proposed to rules and guidance in the Handbook on Countering Financial Crime and Terrorist Financing (version issued on 29 November 2019) 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. It is...
Financial Crime Handbook Consultation
The Commission has received a number of enquiries from firms whose staff are working from home and are unable to verify individuals on a face-to-face basis through physical meetings or where the individual has been unable to provide to the firm a certified copy of their identification data. Rule 5.27 of the Handbook permits a firm to use electronic verification to verify, in whole or in part, the...
Can video calling be used to verify the identity of individuals?
The Guernsey Financial Services Commission is today issuing two Consultation Papers seeking feedback from interested parties on potential changes to the regulatory framework under the Regulation of Fiduciaries, Administration Businesses and Company Directors, etc (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2000 (the "Fiduciaries Law") with the objective of ensuring that the regime continues to be both compliant...
Consultation Papers on Proposals to Create a Single Fiduciary Handbook and Revise Pension Rules
The Commission is today issuing a discussion paper seeking feedback from all interested parties on potential enhancements to the regulatory framework under the Regulation of Fiduciaries, Administration Businesses and Company Directors, etc (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2000 (the "Fiduciaries Law") with the objective of ensuring that the regime continues to be both compliant with international...