Leadership increasingly confident of positive Moneyval inspection

Thursday 18 January 2024

With the island just weeks away from a hotly anticipated visit from Europe’s financial inspectors, soundings have been given that paint a favourable picture for the outcome.

Moneyval’s evaluators are due to arrive in a few weeks’ time, investigating structures and processes in place to combat financial crime such as money laundering and terrorist financing.

An unsuccessful inspection could put Guernsey on a grey list, making it less attractive to financial services companies and investors.

But in his first sit-down interview since becoming Policy & Resources President in December, Deputy Lyndon Trott said while it’s the top external challenge for the island he is “very confident – not complacent – but very confident about the future”.

Since Guernsey has a domestic economy based largely on financial services, with two thirds of exported services linked to the industry, he said: “We’ve got to get this right, and from what I’ve seen so far we’re heading on the right track."

And the global credit rating agent Standard & Poors also said this month it expects the States’ refreshed leadership will ensure a positive assessment is forthcoming in its assessment of government finances which is undertaken every six months. 

The firm noted it’s “crucial for maintaining the jurisdiction’s clean reputation”, adding that it doesn’t expect a grey listing which would “undermine Guernsey’s economic model”.

“An accreditation would signal Guernsey's compliance with international standards for anti-money-laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) in the legal, financial, and law enforcement sectors."

Pictured: Deputy Lyndon Trott is confident the island has adequately prepared. 

Deputy Trott put it down to long-winded preparations behind the scenes, as the States made obtaining a positive evaluation a top priority a few years ago, with that work led by civil servants he described as “very competent”. He said they don’t always get the public thanks they deserve. 

“The people who are at the vanguard of this evaluation are incredibly capable people and they need to be because this is challenging…. the amount of work that has been going on for the last two or more years is extraordinary.

“Deputy Rob Prow, and the Home Affairs Committee, have been doing the lion's share of the political work, but this is something that has been on my mind as Chairman of Guernsey Finance for many years.

“These things matter, our international reputation matters. We pride ourselves on our international reputation." 

Deputy Trott said while practitioners familiar with the island will know it’s not a place to do “dodgy business”, rather “good quality, long-term business”, communicating that message to international evaluators is “another thing” which will have to be done imminently.

Guernsey was last inspected in 2015 and deemed compliant with international standards on financial crime. The next on-the-ground inspection occurs in April 2024, with a report to follow by the end of the year.