Updates to the AML/CFT/CPF Handbook

The Commission has today issued an updated Handbook on Countering Financial Crime (AML/CFT/CPF) (the “Handbook”).

Chapter 1 of the Handbook has been updated to include guidance to licensed firms relating to offences detailed with section 48MA of the Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1999 and section 74A of the Terrorism and Crime (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002 relating respectively to the failure to prevent money laundering and the failure to prevent terrorist financing.

Minor technical changes have been made to Schedule 3 to the Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 1999. These changes relate to:

• including reasonable measures to understand the nature of the customer’s business where it is a legal person or legal arrangement;
• to obtain senior management approval for continuing high risk business relationships with a domestic or international organisation politically exposed person;
• making minor amendments to the thresholds for occasional transactions involving virtual assets; and
• extending the disclosure requirements for trustees of relevant trusts and partners of relevant partnerships to include both foreign trustees and partners of Guernsey legal arrangements and Bailiwick trustees and partners of an equivalent foreign legal arrangement.

These changes have been incorporated into the updated Handbook and, where applicable, corresponding rules and guidance have also been amended.

Minor changes have also been made to the Transfer of Funds (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2017, the Transfer of Funds (Alderney) Ordinance, 2017 and the Transfer of Funds (Sark) Ordinance, 2017 to amend the thresholds for wire transfers to align with the FATF Recommendations and to require money service providers to report suspicious activity in any country affected by the suspicion as well as Guernsey.

Rules within Chapter 7 of the Handbook have also been updated to include a requirement to take reasonable measures to identify and verify the powers that regulate and bind a legal person or legal arrangement and to consider reporting suspicious transactions or activity when carrying out enhanced customer due diligence where higher risks are identified at time of payout.

Minor amendments have also been made to a rule in Chapter 2 so that money service providers include agents in their AML/CFT/CPF programmes and monitor them for compliance and a rule in Chapter 8 to refer to CDD information instead of customer identification data in respect of correspondent relationships.

The clean and tracked version of the Handbook can be accessed via the Handbook page.