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Guernsey has reaffirmed its commitment to combatting economic crime, with fresh support given to the work carried out by MONEYVAL.
“Guernsey has long been committed to playing a full part in international efforts to combat all forms of economic crime. This visit has enabled us to reiterate that commitment by voicing our support for the next phase of MONEYVAL’s work,” said Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq following a recent meeting.
He has recently been in Poland for a Ministerial meeting attended by representatives of 32 countries and international organisations.
As political lead for External Relations, Deputy Le Tocq was invited to the Warsaw gathering, hosted by Poland's Minister of Finance on Tuesday.
Pictured: Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq has said Guernsey is committed to combatting financial crime.
The meeting was attended by Ministers and high-level delegates who each play a role in preventing financial crime around the world.
Deputy Le Tocq used his presence to formally reaffirm the island’s commitment to the same cause.
In a written declaration, all of the jurisdictions represented affirmed their commitment to international and regional efforts to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and to join the Ministers’ Deputies of the Council of Europe in strongly condemning the continued aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and confirm our full support for Ukraine and its people.
Deputy Le Tocq attended the meeting with Richard Walker, Director of Financial Crime Policy for the States of Guernsey and Vice-Chair of the MoneyVal Bureau; and Crown Advocate Kate Rabey, the Head of Delegation from Guernsey to MONEYVAL.
There were also break-away meetings where Ministers from the other Crown Dependencies and the United Kingdom could discuss some common issues around financial crimes.
Pictured: Last year Express published an Explainer about what MONEYVAL is.
Guernsey will next be inspected by MONEYVAL in 2024, when the island's defences against money laundering and the financing of terrorism will be reviewed.
An unsuccessful inspection could put Guernsey on a grey list, making it less attractive to financial services companies and investors.
Jersey set aside nearly £500,000 for a team of international experts to lead a mock evaluation last year ahead of its Moneyval inspection in 2023. Several other financial services centres arranged similar mock evaluations ahead of their own Moneyval inspections, but Guernsey had no plans to do so when the matter was raised in December 2022.
Deputy Rob Prow, the President of the Committee for Home Affairs, said: "...the preparedness is first class and a total mock evaluation is not the best use of resources".
Pictured: Deputy Prow leads Home Affairs, the Committee which has responsibility for preparing the island for the incoming MoneyVAL inspection.
If a jurisdiction fails a MoneyVAL inspection they can expect to move onto the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list. A negative report can lead to banks in the region losing access to some levels of global financial architecture and the jurisdiction as a whole can seem less enticing to investors.
Going in Guernsey's favour ahead of next year's inspection will be the establishment of its Economic and Financial Crime Bureau (EFCB).
That is, as Deputy Le Tocq told political compatriots this week, a sign of the island's commitment to stamping out all aspects of financial crime.
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