Safehaven International Limited, Mr Richard John Bach, Miss Tracey Jane Ozanne, Mr David Charles Housley Whitworth, Mr Michael John Good and Mr Stephen John Dickinson (2020-12-31)

Summary

This is a public enforcement statement issued by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) against Safehaven International Limited, a licensed fiduciary company, and four of its former directors and its MLRO. It follows an on-site inspection that found widespread and serious breaches of anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements in the firm's handling of high-risk, high-net-worth clients (including PEPs) used to hold luxury yachts and aircraft.

• Financial penalties imposed: £100,000 on Safehaven International Limited; £50,000 on Mr Bach; £10,000 each on Mr Good and Mr Whitworth; £1,000 on Mr Dickinson (reduced for personal circumstances); £5,000 on Miss Ozanne (MLRO).
• Prohibition orders: Mr Bach is prohibited from acting as controller, director, partner, manager, MLRO, money laundering compliance officer or compliance officer of any regulated entity for 6 years; Miss Ozanne is prohibited from acting as MLRO, money laundering compliance officer or compliance officer for 5 years.
• Disapplication of exemption: The exemption under Section 3(1)(g) of the Fiduciaries Law is disapplied in respect of Mr Bach for 6 years.
• Findings: Failures identified include inadequate relationship risk assessments, failure to conduct CDD/EDD (including source of funds and source of wealth checks) on high-risk clients, failure to monitor ongoing business relationships, non-compliance with a 2009 remediation instruction (Instruction 6), failure to terminate relationships where verification could not be completed, delayed suspicious activity disclosures, and inadequate compliance oversight by directors and the MLRO.

The statement is published under section 11C of the Financial Services Commission Law and serves as a public record of the Commission's enforcement decisions of 2 December 2020; it does not create new ongoing regulatory requirements for other licensees but illustrates the standards expected under the Regulations, the Handbook, and Instruction 6.

Key obligations

• Safehaven International Limited must pay a £100,000 financial penalty imposed under section 11D of the Financial Services Commission Law.
• Mr Bach must pay a £50,000 financial penalty and is prohibited for 6 years from acting as controller, director, partner, manager, MLRO, money laundering compliance officer or compliance officer of any regulated entity under the Regulatory Laws.
• Mr Good must pay a £10,000 financial penalty.
• Mr Whitworth must pay a £10,000 financial penalty.
• Mr Dickinson must pay a £1,000 financial penalty.
• Miss Ozanne must pay a £5,000 financial penalty and is prohibited for 5 years from acting as MLRO, money laundering compliance officer or compliance officer of any regulated entity.
• The Section 3(1)(g) exemption under the Fiduciaries Law is disapplied in respect of Mr Bach for 6 years.

Applies to

licensed fiduciary company, directors of a regulated entity, money laundering reporting officer (MLRO), compliance officer, controller of a regulated entity

Deadlines

• 6 years from the date of the public statement: Duration of Mr Bach's prohibition from performing controller, director, partner, manager, MLRO, compliance-related functions, and disapplication of the Section 3(1)(g) Fiduciaries Law exemption.
• 5 years from the date of the public statement: Duration of Miss Ozanne's prohibition from performing MLRO, money laundering compliance officer and compliance officer functions.