Financial Crime Returns Rules, 2023 (Guernsey Statutory Instrument No. 19)

Summary

This document combines the Commission's feedback on its consultation on draft Financial Crime Returns Rules with the finalised Rules themselves (Guernsey Statutory Instrument No. 19 of 2023). The Rules make mandatory the filing of three financial crime related returns by licensees regulated under Guernsey's banking, insurance, fiduciary, investor protection and lending/credit legislation.

• Financial Crime Risk Return: Annual return covering activity subject to the Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) Law, filed by all licensees (with limited exclusions), covering the period 1 July to 30 June and due by 31 October following. Insurance managers must file it; fiduciary licensees holding both primary and secondary licences must file one consolidated return; certain protected/incorporated cell companies must also file consolidated returns.
• Intermediary Annual Multi Scheme Return: Filed by designated administrators of authorised or registered collective investment schemes, covering 1 April to 31 March, due by 31 May following, covering every scheme they administer.
• Financial Flows Return: Quarterly return filed by bank licensees on the origin, destination, volume and value of incoming and outgoing transactions, due within two months of quarter end per the schedule (31 May, 31 August, 30 November, last day of February).
• Exclusions: The Rules do not apply to personal fiduciary licence holders, licensees carrying on general insurance business or general insurance intermediary business only, or licensees holding an ancillary services only licence under the Lending, Credit and Finance Law.
• Consultation outcome: Following 15 responses, the Commission clarified that insurance managers must file a financial crime risk return and that fiduciary businesses with primary and secondary licensees under common ownership must file one consolidated return.
• Enforcement approach: The Commission is phasing in administrative penalties for late or inaccurate returns, and will only begin imposing such penalties in 2024, having monitored compliance informally in prior years.

The Rules came into force on 28 April 2023 and apply going forward to all in-scope licensees' financial crime returns, replacing informal arrangements that had been in place for a number of years.

Key obligations

• All licensees within scope must file a Financial Crime Risk Return with the Commission covering the period 1 July to 30 June, due by 31 October immediately following the end of that period, in the electronic format the Commission makes available.
• Fiduciary licensees holding both a primary and secondary fiduciary licence under the Fiduciaries Law must file one consolidated Financial Crime Risk Return.
• Protected Cell Companies or Incorporated Cell Companies licensed under the Insurance Business Law conducting both life and non-life business must file one consolidated Financial Crime Risk Return covering the Company and life-business Cells.
• Protected Cell Companies or Incorporated Cell Companies licensed under the Protection of Investors Law must file one consolidated Financial Crime Risk Return covering the Company and its Cells.
• Insurance managers must file a Financial Crime Risk Return.
• Designated administrators of authorised or registered collective investment schemes must file an Intermediary Annual Multi-Scheme Return covering every scheme they administer, for the period 1 April to 31 March, due by 31 May immediately following.
• Bank licensees must file a quarterly Financial Flows Return with the Commission by the dates set out in Schedule 1 (31 May, 31 August, 30 November, and the last day of February for each respective quarter).
• A licensee that acquires a book of business from another licensee during a reporting period must include data for the acquired business for the entirety of that reporting period in its returns.
• All returns must be filed in the electronic format the Commission makes available.

Applies to

banks, insurance managers, insurance intermediaries, fiduciary licensees, administration businesses, company directors licensees, designated administrators of collective investment schemes, lending, credit and finance licensees

Deadlines

• 31 October immediately following the end of the reporting period (1 July to 30 June): Deadline for filing the annual Financial Crime Risk Return
• 31 May immediately following the end of the reporting period (1 April to 31 March): Deadline for filing the annual Intermediary Multi-Scheme Return
• 31 May: Cut-off date for Financial Flows Return covering reporting period 1 January to 31 March
• 31 August: Cut-off date for Financial Flows Return covering reporting period 1 April to 30 June
• 30 November: Cut-off date for Financial Flows Return covering reporting period 1 July to 30 September
• Last day of February: Cut-off date for Financial Flows Return covering reporting period 1 October to 31 December
• 28 April 2023: Date the Financial Crime Returns Rules, 2023 came into force
• 2024: Year from which the Commission will begin imposing administrative penalties for late or inaccurate return filings

Related documents

• This document is made under Insurance Business (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002
• This document is made under Insurance Managers and Insurance Intermediaries (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002 (Consolidated text)
• This document is made under Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022 (Consolidated)
• This document is made under Protection of Investors (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020
• This document is made under Regulation of Fiduciaries, Administration Businesses and Company Directors, etc (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020 (Consolidated text)