Mr William Stephen Cairns and Mr Du Preez Gert Vermeulen (2026-05-14)

Summary

This is a public statement issued by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) disclosing enforcement action taken against two former directors of a Guernsey-licensed trust and corporate services provider (the Licensee). The decisions were taken on 2 February 2023 under the Financial Services Business (Enforcement Powers) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020, following an investigation into serious and systemic AML/CFT and governance failures at the Licensee, largely predating 2018.

• Mr William Stephen Cairns: Fined £133,000; prohibited for ten years and six months from acting as controller, shareholder, director, manager, MLRO or MLCO of a licensee; and made subject to a notice disapplying the section 3(1)(g) exemption under the 2020 Fiduciaries Law for the same period.
• Mr Du Preez Gert Vermeulen: Fined £35,000; prohibited for two years and one month from acting as a director; and made subject to a notice disapplying the section 3(1)(g) exemption under the 2020 Fiduciaries Law for the same period.
• Grounds: Findings included failure to act with integrity and probity, breach of fiduciary duty to beneficiaries, failure to monitor client activity and transactions, failure to keep proper books and records, failure to ensure effective AML/CFT procedures, and failure to manage a conflict of interest arising from a personal loan between the two directors.
• Mitigation: Both individuals cooperated fully with the Commission and settled at an early stage, resulting in a discount applied to the financial penalties and prohibition periods.

The statement is purely a disclosure of concluded enforcement action against two named individuals; it does not create new ongoing regulatory requirements for the wider industry, though it references pre-existing obligations under the Regulations, the Handbook, and the Codes of Practice for Trust Service Providers and Corporate Service Providers that the Licensee and its directors were found to have breached.

Key obligations

• Mr Cairns must pay a financial penalty of £133,000 as ordered by the Commission
• Mr Vermeulen must pay a financial penalty of £35,000 as ordered by the Commission
• Mr Cairns is prohibited from acting as controller, shareholder, director, manager, MLRO or MLCO of any licensee for ten years and six months
• Mr Vermeulen is prohibited from acting as a director for two years and one month
• The section 3(1)(g) exemption under the 2020 Fiduciaries Law is disapplied in respect of Mr Cairns for ten years and six months
• The section 3(1)(g) exemption under the 2020 Fiduciaries Law is disapplied in respect of Mr Vermeulen for two years and one month

Applies to

fiduciary licensees, trust service providers, corporate service providers, directors, controllers, money laundering reporting officers, money laundering compliance officers

Deadlines

• 2 February 2023: Date the Commission's decisions (penalties, prohibitions and exemption disapplications) were made
• ten years and six months: Duration of Mr Cairns's prohibition from holding specified positions and disapplication of the section 3(1)(g) exemption
• two years and one month: Duration of Mr Vermeulen's prohibition from acting as a director and disapplication of the section 3(1)(g) exemption