Money laundering expert calls for more prosecutions

AN ANTI-MONEY laundering expert has reinforced criticism of a lack of action in Guernsey in prosecuting AML cases.

Mathew Beale, managing director of Comsure Compliance, a Jersey business which operates across the islands, highlighted criticism from the International Monetary Fund over enforcement action in the island on anti-money laundering.

He said the IMF inspection found that while the laws were 'up to scratch', their implementation was not. There have been just two public acts of enforcement since that report, both dating back to 2010, one of which saw a financier sent to prison.

'If I was an independent reviewer, I'm not convinced that's enough,' said Mr Beale, a former regulator at the Jersey Financial Services Commission. 'We need to be doing more and be more public about what we do. That is the future.'