Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Restriction on Cash Transactions) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Regulations, 2008

Summary

These Regulations, made under the Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1999, impose a cash transaction limit on businesses that deal in high value goods. They prohibit selling or buying precious metals, precious stones or jewellery for cash payments above a set threshold, and create a criminal offence for breaches.

• Restriction: A person carrying on the business of high value dealing (dealing in precious metal, precious stone or jewellery) must not sell or purchase any such restricted article where the payment is in cash exceeding 10,000 pounds or the equivalent in any currency.
• Offence and penalties: Contravening the cash restriction is a criminal offence: a first offence carries a fine not exceeding level 2 on the uniform scale (currently 1,000 pounds), and a second or subsequent offence carries a fine not exceeding twice the value of the cash involved.
• Key definitions: Restricted article covers precious metal (gold, silver, platinum and platinum group metals including palladium), precious stone (rare gems of commercial value, including diamond, emerald, sapphire, ruby, tanzanite, alexandrite), and jewellery (articles made of such materials intended for personal adornment). Cash means banknotes and coins in circulation as a medium of exchange, and payment includes a series of payments.

The Regulations came into force on 1 December 2008 and remain a standalone anti money laundering control targeting high value dealers such as jewellers, precious metal and precious stone dealers in the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

Key obligations

• High value dealers (businesses dealing in precious metal, precious stone or jewellery) must not sell or purchase restricted articles for cash payments exceeding 10,000 pounds (or currency equivalent), including where payment is structured as a series of payments totalling that amount.

Applies to

high value dealers, businesses dealing in precious metals, businesses dealing in precious stones, jewellers

Deadlines

• 1 December 2008: Commencement date on which the Regulations came into force.

Related documents

• This document is made under Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1999