News

The PQ Portal upgrade has been completed. If you are a PQ Portal user you will notice significant changes to the portal and forms. More details about the new PQ features can be found in the guidance note on our website by clicking here. As previously advised, if you have accounts in both the OS and PQ Portals and use different email addresses for each, it is now possible to link those accounts. If...

The Commission has today, issued in final form, the revised Handbook on Countering Financial Crime and Terrorist Financing (“the Handbook”). The Commission has made these amendments, to the Handbook, in order to take into account the Bailiwick of Guernsey’s National Risk Assessment (“NRA”) on money laundering (“ML”) and the financing of terrorism (“FT”) which was published in January 2020. These...

On 12 June 2020, the Royal Court found in favour of the Commission’s application to have the above matter struck out. Mr Chick had brought a claim, against the Commission, that the enforcement proceedings which were found against him on 31 May 2018 amounted to a breach of his human rights. The matter was struck out for having no basis in law. This ruling provides clarification on the position of...

New Fast Track Application Regime for Managers of Overseas Collective Investment Schemes: 12 June 2020 The Commission is pleased to announce the launch of a new fast track application regime for managers of Overseas Collective Investment Schemes to make it simpler for them to apply for a Guernsey licence. The intention of the regime is to combine where appropriate the consent to migrate the...

On the 8th day of June 2020 the Commission has imposed discretionary financial penalties on the following parties:- • £42,000 on Global Insurance Group Limited;• £17,500 on Christopher Schofield; and• £10,500 on Andrew William Robert As a result of failures to meet the Minimum Criteria for Licensing in respect of Schedule 7 of The Insurance Business (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002. More details...

On the 4 day of June 2020 the Commission imposed, on an agreed basis, a discretionary financial penalty (under section 11D of The Financial Services Commission (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1987) on Standard Chartered Trust (Guernsey) Limited of £140,000. This was as a result of historical failures to meet the Minimum Criteria for Licensing in respect of Schedule 1 of The Regulation of Fiduciaries...

The Commission’s Financial Crime Division is recommencing its routine financial crime inspections to firms with immediate effect. Routine inspections were suspended on 19 March 2020 to enable firms to deal with the immediate operational impact of the coronavirus lockdown. Financial Crime inspections are resuming now as the finance industry has demonstrated its resilience and firms have generally...

On 29 May 2020, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, acting to protect the interests of investors and pursuant to powers granted to it under the Protection of Investors (Administration and Intervention) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance of 2008, made an application to the Court to have administrators appointed to Continent Worldwide Limited, a company licensed under the Protection of...

Application Form for Managing General Agents 29 May 2020 The Commission is pleased to announce the launch of a new application form for Managing General Agents (MGAs) to make it simpler for them to apply for a Guernsey licence. Although the MGAs fall within the insurance manager licensing framework the Commission wished to ensure that Managing General Agents interested in coming to the Bailiwick...