Civil Penalties - Conyers Trust Company (Bermuda) Limited (2022-05-02)

Summary

This is a Bermuda Monetary Authority press release announcing that it has levied civil penalties totalling $1,118,500 on Conyers Trust Company (Bermuda) Limited, a licensed trust business, for historic failures to comply with the Trusts (Regulation of Trust Business) Act 2001 and the Proceeds of Crime (Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing) Regulations 2008. The penalties followed on-site AML/ATF and prudential inspections in 2017 and 2018 that identified multiple compliance deficiencies.

• AML/ATF Regulations deficiencies: Customer Due Diligence, Ongoing Monitoring / Periodic Review, Enhanced Due Diligence, Systems, Independent Audit, and Training were not adequately complied with.
• Trusts Act Minimum Criteria deficiencies: Corporate Governance Policy, Business to be Conducted in a Prudent Manner, and Notification of Change of Controller requirements were not met.
• Remediation timeline: The Authority required all deficiencies to be rectified by December 2019; some remained unremediated to the Authority's satisfaction by that date, though the Company ultimately complied with the Authority's directions.
• Mitigating factors considered: The Authority weighed the size and quality of the Company's business, absence of financial benefit from the breaches, full cooperation, continuing remediation commitment, offer of regular compliance updates, and significant remediation costs in setting the penalty amount.

The notice is retrospective and informational, documenting a completed enforcement action rather than announcing new rules or ongoing filing requirements for the wider industry. It serves as a reminder to licensees of the importance of maintaining up-to-date, effective AML/ATF policies and procedures.

Applies to

trust companies, licensees under the Trusts (Regulation of Trust Business) Act 2001

Deadlines

• December 2019: Deadline previously set by the Authority for Conyers Trust Company (Bermuda) Limited to rectify identified AML/ATF and Trusts Act deficiencies.