Disclosure (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2007 (Consolidated text)

Summary

This is the consolidated text of Guernsey's Disclosure Law 2007, the core statute underpinning anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) reporting in the Bailiwick. It creates criminal offences for failing to disclose knowledge or suspicion of money laundering, restricts tipping-off, and sets out the disclosure regime between businesses, nominated officers, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the police, the Director of the Revenue Service, and other authorities.

• Financial services businesses: A person must make a required disclosure as soon as possible if they know, suspect, or have reasonable grounds to know or suspect that another person is engaged in money laundering or that property is derived from criminal conduct, where the information came to them in the course of a financial services business (section 1).
• Nominated officers: A nominated officer who receives such information from a section 1 disclosure must in turn make a required disclosure to a prescribed police officer or FIU officer as soon as possible (section 2).
• Non-financial services businesses (DNFBPs): Persons in non-financial services businesses face an equivalent obligation to disclose knowledge or suspicion of money laundering to a prescribed police officer or FIU officer (section 3).
• Proliferation and sanctions disclosures: Separate disclosure obligations apply in relation to suspected proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (section 3B) and information relating to international sanctions (section 10A).
• Tipping-off: It is an offence to tip off a person that a disclosure has been or may be made, or that an investigation is being contemplated or carried out, subject to defined exceptions (section 4, with permitted disclosures set out in sections 4A to 4C).
• Authorised persons and officials: Separate parts govern disclosure of information to police officers by authorised persons, disclosures by Her Majesty's Procureur or police officers, and disclosures by and to the Director of the Revenue Service.
• Defences and safe harbours: Defences exist for reasonable excuse, professional legal privilege (subject to exceptions where information furthers a criminal purpose), and lack of required AML training, and good-faith disclosures do not breach confidentiality obligations.
• Commission powers: The GFSC may make rules and issue guidance or instructions under section 15, and regulations may prescribe the form and manner of disclosures under section 11; courts must consider compliance with such guidance when assessing offences.

The law has been amended numerous times since 2007 (most recently referencing 2022 and 2023 amendments) and this version is a non-authoritative consolidated text; the authoritative version must be obtained from HM Greffier. Persons and businesses in scope should treat the disclosure and non-tipping-off obligations as ongoing compliance requirements rather than one-off actions.

Key obligations

• A person in a financial services business must disclose knowledge or suspicion of money laundering (or reasonable grounds for such knowledge or suspicion) as soon as possible to a nominated officer or a prescribed police/FIU officer, in the prescribed form and manner (section 1).
• A nominated officer who receives a disclosure under section 1 must make a required disclosure to a prescribed police officer or FIU officer as soon as possible (section 2).
• A person in a non-financial services business must disclose knowledge or suspicion of money laundering to a prescribed police officer or FIU officer, subject to specified defences (section 3).
• Persons must not tip off another person that a disclosure has been made or that an investigation is being contemplated or carried out, except where a permitted disclosure exception applies (section 4, 4A to 4C).
• Persons must comply with any applicable disclosure obligations relating to suspected proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (section 3B) and to international sanctions (section 10A).
• Disclosures must be made in the form and manner prescribed by regulations made under section 11 where such regulations exist.
• Businesses must ensure employees receive AML training as required under related Proceeds of Crime regulations, since lack of such training can affect liability for failure to disclose.

Applies to

financial services businesses, non financial services businesses (DNFBPs), nominated officers within businesses, authorised persons, police officers, Her Majesty's Procureur, Director of the Revenue Service

Deadlines

• as soon as possible: Required disclosures of knowledge or suspicion of money laundering under sections 1, 2 and 3 must be made as soon as possible after the information or matter comes to the person, or they commit an offence.

Related documents

• Regulation of Fiduciaries, Administration Businesses and Company Directors, etc (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020 (Consolidated text) amends this document