Mr Rudiger Michael Falla, Mr Richard Garrod, Mr Leslie Hilton, Mr Geoffrey Robert Le Page, Mr Kenneth Richard Leslie Forman (2015-10-26)

Summary

This is a public enforcement statement issued by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) concerning five individuals connected to Confiance Limited, a company licensed under the Fiduciaries Law. It records financial penalties, prohibition orders and other regulatory action taken against the individuals following findings of serious anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing (AML/CFT) failings.

• Financial penalties: £50,000 penalties imposed under Section 11D of the Financial Services Commission Law on each of Mr Falla, Mr Garrod, Mr Hilton and Mr Le Page; a £10,000 penalty imposed on Mr Forman.
• Prohibition orders: Mr Falla, Mr Hilton and Mr Le Page are prohibited for 5 years from the date of the public statement from acting as director, controller, partner or money laundering reporting officer for any entity licensed under the Regulatory Laws.
• Exemption disapplied: The exemption in Section 3(1)(g) of the Fiduciaries Law is disapplied in respect of Mr Falla, Mr Hilton and Mr Le Page from the date of the public statement.
• Grounds: The Commission found the Directors failed to meet the fit and proper requirements in paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Fiduciaries Law, arising from AML/CFT systems and controls failings at Confiance identified on visits in 2010, 2013 and April 2015, including inadequate risk assessments, customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence, ongoing monitoring, and disclosure procedures.
• Mitigating factors: The Directors cooperated fully and agreed to settle early, resulting in a discount applied to the financial penalties.

The statement is historical and describes a completed enforcement decision by the Commission dated 24 August 2015; it does not impose new general obligations on the wider industry beyond the specific sanctions against the named individuals.

Key obligations

• The named prohibited individuals (Mr Falla, Mr Hilton and Mr Le Page) must not perform the functions of director, controller, partner or money laundering reporting officer for any entity licensed under the Regulatory Laws for 5 years from the date of the public statement.
• The named individuals subject to financial penalties must pay the penalties imposed under Section 11D of the Financial Services Commission Law (£50,000 each for Falla, Garrod, Hilton and Le Page; £10,000 for Forman).

Applies to

fiduciary licensees, directors, controllers, money laundering reporting officers, company directors, non-executive directors

Deadlines

• 5 years from the date of this public statement (26 October 2015): Duration of the prohibition on Mr Falla, Mr Hilton and Mr Le Page acting as director, controller, partner or MLRO for licensed entities.