Utmost Worldwide Limited, Mr Leon Steyn and Mr James Alexander Watchorn (2026-03-12)

Summary

This is a Guernsey Financial Services Commission public statement announcing enforcement action against Utmost Worldwide Limited (a life insurance licensee) and two individuals, Mr Leon Steyn (CEO) and Mr James Watchorn (former Nominated Officer/Deputy MLRO), for serious and systemic anti-money laundering and financial crime control failures spanning 2015 to 2025. The Commission found breaches of the Minimum Criteria for Licensing under the Insurance Business Law and the Insurance Managers and Insurance Intermediaries Law, and of AML/CFT requirements under Schedule 3, the Regulations and the Handbook.

• Financial penalty on Licensee: A fine of £1,960,000 imposed on Utmost Worldwide Limited under section 39 of the Enforcement Powers Law.
• Financial penalty on Mr Steyn: A fine of £35,000 imposed on Mr Leon Steyn under section 39 of the Enforcement Powers Law.
• Financial penalty on Mr Watchorn: A fine of £10,500 imposed on Mr James Watchorn under section 39 of the Enforcement Powers Law.
• Prohibition order: Mr Watchorn is prohibited under section 33 of the Enforcement Powers Law from holding the roles of Money Laundering Reporting Officer or Money Laundering Compliance Officer for one year and five months.
• Public statement: The Commission has made this public statement under section 38 of the Enforcement Powers Law detailing the findings against the Licensee and both individuals.

The underlying findings centre on inadequate risk assessment and periodic review of high-risk clients (including PEPs), failure to remediate roughly 1,900 client files affected by broker fraud over a decade, weak source of wealth and source of funds checks, poor handling of money laundering red flags, and failure to comply with the 2019 Handbook transitional provisions requiring review of all business relationships by 31 December 2021. The Licensee has since undertaken a remediation programme, including a new risk-rating and review-cycle methodology, which the Commission treated as a mitigating factor alongside full cooperation and early settlement.

Key obligations

• Utmost Worldwide Limited must pay a financial penalty of £1,960,000 imposed under section 39 of the Enforcement Powers Law.
• Mr Leon Steyn must pay a financial penalty of £35,000 imposed under section 39 of the Enforcement Powers Law.
• Mr James Watchorn must pay a financial penalty of £10,500 imposed under section 39 of the Enforcement Powers Law.
• Mr Watchorn is prohibited from acting as Money Laundering Reporting Officer or Money Laundering Compliance Officer for a period of one year and five months from the date of the order.

Applies to

Insurance licensees, Money Laundering Reporting Officers, Money Laundering Compliance Officers, Financial services businesses subject to AML/CFT requirements

Deadlines

• one year and five months from 9 March 2026: Duration of the prohibition order preventing Mr Watchorn from holding MLRO or MLCO roles.