https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2025-02-10/guernsey-urged-to-improve-how-it-investigates-money-laundering

Guernsey is being urged to improve its investigation and prosecution of money laundering as assessors Moneyval failed the island's response to financial crime in five out of 11 areas.

The independent report by European experts is a key marker in global markets and the island has held onto its 'white list' status, which means it fully co-operates with international standards.

It also achieved two of the highest passes in how it deals with international sanctions.

However, there are some concerns over its effectiveness in going after those suspected of financial misdealings.

Tom Keatinge, Director of the Centre for Finance and Security at the Royal United Services Institute, says: "Prosecutions and investigations are the most important because what we are trying to do with anti-financial crime efforts is identify the bad guys, prosecute them and confiscate their efforts. So that’s quintessentially, the definition of effectiveness."

The 2025 Moneyval evaluation report presents an analysis of measures taken to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, based on a visit conducted in April 2024.

The assessment performed by European experts evaluates how effectively a jurisdiction addresses financial crime.

They found although the creation of an Economic and Financial Crime Bureau (EFCB) shows a shift towards going after money launderers, "insufficient human resources" has limited its success.

Moneyval adds: "As a result, the number of money laundering investigations and prosecutions is generally low and declining."

The President of Home Affairs, Deputy Rob Prow, says: "Staff were depleted in that sphere of work and it’s not until this term of government that this was recognised and we worked very hard with P&R [Policy and Resources] getting the finance and IT to turn that around."

In total, Guernsey had six passes and five failures, compared to Jersey which passed seven categories when its report was published last year.

Defending Guernsey's results, Chief Minister Deputy Lyndon Trott explains: "What you need to do is look at where we appear by way of peer review and it really is a solid performance. If you want to carry out good quality financial services and business then Guernsey and Jersey are the places to come."

Last year it was revealed that the uncle of Syria's former president, known as the "Butcher of Hama", used a Guernsey adviser to secretly manage his wealth.

Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Bashar al-Assad, collaborated with Guernsey financial consultant Ginette Louise Blondel to manage millions of his funds.

The joint investigation from The Guardian and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported Rifaat's wealth included "a large European property empire worth hundreds of millions of Euros that prosecutors claim was acquired with funds looted from the wartorn state".

William Mason, Director General of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, says: "The report recognises and reaffirms that Guernsey is a safe and secure jurisdiction that does not tolerate financial crime."

Fiona Crocker, Director of the Financial Crime Division for the Commission, adds: "Whilst the report recommends a number of actions relating to supervision, these are manageable, and we do not anticipate any fundamental changes to our supervisory approach."

Guernsey is expected to report back to Moneyval under its regular follow-up reporting process in May 2027.