The governments of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have jointly announced a series of steps regarding their respective registers of company beneficial ownership information and how they will move towards developing international standards of accessibility and transparency in the future.
"Jersey is proud to be among global leaders in matters of tax cooperation, transparency and in combatting money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. The commitments we are announcing today, alongside Guernsey and the Isle of Man, will help to ensure that this leadership role is maintained, while taking into account the standards being developed within Europe. We hope to encourage other jurisdictions to raise their own standards, particularly in relation to the verification of data and the regulation of the financial services sector.”
Senator Ian Gorst (External Relations Minister for Jersey)
The three jurisdictions have a long track record of high standards which are effective in helping to tackle financial crime and countering the financing of terrorism, and all three actively support the development of global standards of transparency.
The commitment (announced on 19th June 2019) will increase further transparency and accessibility, while maintaining high standards of accurate, up-to-date, verified information. It sets out three clear stages which are consistent with the EU’s approach to transparency of beneficial ownership data of companies under the EU’s Fifth Money Laundering Directive (‘the EU Directive’) within a deliverable timeframe.
The stages are:
- The interconnection of the islands’ registers of beneficial ownership of companies with those within the EU for access by law enforcement authorities and Financial Intelligence Units; then
- Access for financial service businesses and certain other prescribed businesses for corporate due diligence purposes; then
- Public access aligned to the approach taken in the EU Directive.
Following the announcement, Jersey’s External Relations Minister, along with the Chief Minsters of Guernsey and the Isle of Man met with UK parliamentarians in London and the commitment has been welcomed across the UK political spectrum.
The Prime Minister, Theresa May, in response to a question by Nigel Mills MP commented during Prime Minister’s Questions:
“I’m very pleased to see the announcement today from Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man and indeed we continue to work with the Overseas Territories to ensure that they do follow those standards and open those books, so that people can see who is actually owning those companies.”
For more information on Jersey’s commitment to beneficial ownership please contact externalrelations@gov.je / 01534 440255
If you would like to know more about Jersey’s commitment to meet international standards set by number of worldwide organisations and international regulatory bodies; from the European Union (EU) to the Organisation for Economic cooperation and Development (OECD), and from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to MONEYVAL (and many others) please visit our Meeting International Standards page.
For more information on the benefits and process of relocating to Jersey with a business or as a High Value Resident please get in touch with a member of the team by calling +44(0)1534 440604 or email locatejersey@gov.je.
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