Trott ‘always confident’ about positive Moneyval outcome
Policy & Resources president Lyndon Trott has maintained that he was always confident that Guernsey’s track record, and the preparation involved for last year’s Moneyval Trott ‘always confident that Guernsey’s track record would stand the island in good stead.
‘I was always confident of a positive outcome given we are – as we have always maintained – a responsible international finance centre that takes its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism responsibilities seriously,’ he said.
‘Quite simply a result of greylisting would have caused significant repercussions for the island and a decline in financial services of about 10%.
‘Not only that, but it would have resulted in business going elsewhere that would have otherwise been located in Guernsey.
‘A poor Moneyval evaluation would have hit our economy and caused a loss of jobs, which means the significant investment we made to ensure we were well-prepared was money well spent.’
The island’s assessment contained significant positivity – the island was said to have a ‘good understanding of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing’ and was said to have highly effective application of targeted financial sanctions.
The lowest mark received was in relation to the investigation and prosecution of money laundering.
The Bailiwick has been placed into what is described as ‘regular follow-up’, which is ultimately the core aim of all those jurisdictions evaluated.
‘This is undoubtedly one of the success stories of this term of government, as the amount of effort and collaboration needed to secure this very positive result was a huge task,’ said Deputy Rob Prow, president of Home Affairs, who led the financial crime strategic oversight group.
‘This is about meeting international standards in anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and, while there are areas we need to improve, and we will, we have shown that overall we meet the standards and compare positively to most other jurisdictions.’
The Guernsey Financial Services Commission has also welcomed the report.
‘The report recognises and reaffirms that Guernsey is a safe and secure jurisdiction that does not tolerate financial crime,’ said director-general William Mason.
‘This outcome is the result of a Bailiwick-wide effort and I would like to thank our staff, industry and other official sector actors who made a significant contribution to many of the immediate outcomes in the lead up to, during, as well as after, the on-site inspection in April 2024.’
Read more Moneyval coverage in Tuesday’s Press
