St James Global Limited and Joseph Coutts (2008-01-11)

Summary

This is a public warning notice issued by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission alerting the public that Joseph Coutts, the former shareholder and managing director of the now-liquidated St James Global Limited, may be trading as an insurance intermediary under the name St James Global from Monaco and contacting former clients to promote new products.

• Licence status: St James Global Limited, a Guernsey company previously licensed for insurance intermediary business, was placed into compulsory liquidation by the Royal Court on 20 December 2006, and the Commission revoked its licence to act as an insurance intermediary in or from within Guernsey on 20 December 2007.
• Individual's history: Joseph Coutts was convicted in December 2006 of attempting to obtain money by deception and was disqualified for 11 years, from October 2007, from being a director or officer of any Guernsey company or from being involved in the management, formation or promotion of any Guernsey company.
• Unrelated entity: The notice clarifies that there is a separate, legitimate South African company called St James Global Financial Services Pty Limited, which should not be confused with the Guernsey entity or Mr Coutts's activities.

The notice is a warning rather than a rule imposing ongoing compliance duties; it advises the public and former clients to be cautious of any approaches from Mr Coutts or entities using the St James Global name.

Applies to

insurance intermediaries, members of the public, former clients of St James Global Limited