Moneyval report hailed 'significant achievement'

The States of Guernsey says it has "achieved a highly successful outcome" with the result of a report by the anti-money laundering body Moneyval.

It said it "secures the bailiwick's position as one of the best, secure and safe jurisdictions in the world for financial services".

The report praised the progress made in Guernsey since the last inspection in 2015 but said more work was needed "to improve the investigation, prosecution and conviction of money laundering offences" .

Moneyval inspectors visited Guernsey in April 2024 and looked at local laws and regulatory and enforcement processes against international standards on tackling financial crime.

Guernsey's Chief Minister Deputy Lyndon Trott said the report was "a positive outcome" for the economy.

He said: "Quite simply a result of grey listing 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."

Moneyval is part of the Council of Europe that helps maintain international standards in the fight against financial crime, including money laundering and financing of international terrorism.

Its report highlighted Guernsey's well-developed understanding of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing and its "highly effective application" of targeted financial sanctions.

It also said the island had made significant efforts to strengthen its legal and regulatory framework but "improvements were necessary" in tackling money laundering and it must make "further efforts to enhance the quality and types of suspicious activity reports".

The States said pass ratings for six out of the 11 categories (Immediate Outcomes) and passing all 40 recommendations around technical compliance was a "significant achievement".

It said the bailiwick had been placed into what was described as regular follow-up, which secures its position as one of the best, secure and safe jurisdictions in the world for financial services.

Stephen Rouxel, president of Guernsey's Chamber of Commerce, said a positive report was "incredibly important to ensure Guernsey can operate on a global stage".

"The economy is predominantly based around the finance sector and it accounts for 40% of direct GDP, indirectly it probably accounts for around 65-70% of our economy.

"If you don't get a good report, it impacts on your ability to work with other financial jurisdictions in a more seamless way."

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [email protected].