09 July 2018
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Jersey has introduced new legislation designed to increase the authorities capability to fight financial crime.
The amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law, approved by Jersey’s government, are designed to ensure Jersey complies with the recommendations highlighted in the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) report, published in 2016.
The two amendments are designed to strengthen Jersey’s ability to secure higher volumes of prosecutions and confiscations in cases of financial crime. Specifically, they widen the definition of ‘criminal property’ and change the requirement of two qualifying offences to just one, when making assumptions regarding criminal conduct.
“In 2016, MONEYVAL gave Jersey a glowing report on the effectiveness of its ability to tackle financial crime, giving it the highest rating of any jurisdiction anywhere in the world. At the same time, it made a couple of recommendations to tighten our defences even further,” Geoff Cook, pictured left, chief executive of Jersey Finance, said.
“Whilst quite specific and technical in nature, their swift introduction clearly reinforces that Jersey stands aligned with efforts to enhance future transparency frameworks and is focused on clamping down on financial crime. It also underlines our willingness to work with global authorities to ensure our systems for prosecuting financial crime are amongst the best in the world,” he added.
