AML/CFT

Who is caught

The instruments indexed here cast the Bailiwick's AML/CFT net across the regulated financial sector, designated non-financial businesses and professions, and a range of specific actors and property. The Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1999 is the principal statute, supported by the Disclosure Law, the Terrorism and Crime Law, sector rules and the Commission's Handbook.

Core regulated population

• Proceeds of Crime categories: Financial services businesses (Schedule 1), relevant businesses (Schedule 2) and specified businesses (Schedule 3), together with unregulated officers, trustees and partners, are subject to AML/CFT duties under the 1999 Law.
• Prescribed businesses: The Prescribed Businesses (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2008 covers relevant businesses under the 1999 Law that fall outside the main financial services licensing laws (certain designated non-financial businesses and professions).
• Specified businesses under the Handbook: The Handbook on Countering Financial Crime applies to all specified businesses conducting financial services business or prescribed business, including Bailiwick branches of overseas firms, TCSPs, VASPs, PSPs, MSPs, and natural persons, legal persons and legal arrangements.
• Financial and non-financial businesses: The Disclosure Law and the Terrorism and Crime Law impose disclosure obligations on both financial services businesses (and their nominated officers) and non-financial services businesses (DNFBPs).

Specific activities and actors

• Credit, finance and virtual assets: The Lending, Credit and Finance Law, 2022 brings credit providers, financial firm businesses, virtual asset service providers and financial platform operators within a GFSC licensing regime.
• Payment service providers: The Transfer of Funds Ordinances for Guernsey, Alderney and Sark apply the EU wire transfer information requirements to payment service providers and intermediary payment service providers operating in or from the Bailiwick.
• High value dealers: The Restriction on Cash Transactions Regulations apply to businesses dealing in precious metals, precious stones or jewellery.
• Non profit organisations: The Charities and Non Profit Organisations investigatory powers and enabling laws apply to NPOs, charities, and their trustees, directors, officers, employees and connected service providers.
• Registered directors: Individuals registered under the director registration regime are within Schedule 3 but on a reduced basis, given their activities are limited to holding no more than six directorships.
• Sanctions targets and screeners: The Libya and Al-Qaida/ISIL Ordinances, the UK Terrorist Asset-Freezing Act (as extended) and the listed EU Regulations bind persons dealing with designated persons, funds or economic resources, which is relevant to firms' sanctions screening.

Sources: Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022 (Consolidated) · Al-Qaida (Restrictive Measures) (Guernsey) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 · Charities and Non Profit Organisations (Enabling Provisions) (Guernsey and Alderney) Law, 2009 · Charities and Non Profit Organisations (Investigatory Powers) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2008 · Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1999 · Disclosure (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2007 (Consolidated text) · Prescribed Businesses (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2008 (Consolidated text) · Terrorism and Crime (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002 (Consolidated text) · Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Act 2010 (c. 38) · Transfer of Funds (Alderney) Ordinance, 2017 · Transfer of Funds (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2017 · Transfer of Funds (Sark) Ordinance, 2017 · Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Restriction on Cash Transactions) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Regulations, 2008 · Council Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 · Council Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 · AML/CFT/CPF Guidance for DRR · Handbook on Countering Financial Crime (AML/CFT/CPF) (7 July 2026)

Key duties

Continuing obligations fall into recurring returns, transaction-level disclosure, customer due diligence, and cooperation duties. Several carry fixed annual or quarterly deadlines under the Financial Crime Returns Rules; others are event-driven.

Periodic financial crime returns

• Financial Crime Risk Return: Licensees and registrants (subject to exemptions) file an annual return covering the period 1 July to 30 June, due by 31 October following the period end, under the 2025 and 2026 Rules.
• Prescribed Business Return: Registrants file an annual return detailing Schedule 2 prescribed business activities for the same period, due by 31 October.
• Scheme administrator return: Designated administrators of collective investment schemes file a multi-scheme return; under the 2025 Rules the period is 1 April to 31 March due by 31 May, and under the 2026 Rules the period is 1 July to 30 June due by 31 October.
• Financial Flows Return: Banking licensees and certain Schedule 1 licensees (excluding bureau de change and cheque cashing) file a quarterly return on the dates set out in Schedule 1 of the Rules.

Registration and due diligence

• Registration: Financial services, relevant and specified businesses must meet registration and AML/CFT duties under the Proceeds of Crime Law; prescribed businesses register with and are supervised by the GFSC.
• Customer due diligence: Firms must apply a risk-based approach and carry out CDD (including enhanced or simplified measures) on natural persons, legal persons and legal arrangements, per the Handbook and Schedule 3.
• Beneficial ownership: Businesses and their unregulated officers must comply with beneficial ownership obligations under section 49DA of the Proceeds of Crime Law, which also bridges to the Beneficial Ownership Laws.

Reporting and monitoring

• Suspicion reporting: Persons in financial and non-financial businesses, and nominated officers, must disclose knowledge or suspicion of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing as soon as possible under the Disclosure Law and the Terrorism and Crime Law.
• Manner of disclosure: Disclosures under the Terrorism and Crime Law are normally made via the Financial Investigation Unit's online facility, and a person served with a notice must supply additional information within the period specified (generally not less than 7 days).
• No tipping off: Persons must not tip off that a disclosure has been made or that an investigation is contemplated or underway, subject to defined exceptions.
• Ongoing monitoring: Firms must monitor transactions and business relationships for suspicious or unusual activity.

Governance, records and cooperation

• Records and training: Firms must keep CDD, transaction and training records and must screen and train employees on AML/CFT/CPF requirements.
• Sanctions compliance: Firms must comply with UN, UK and other targeted financial sanctions, including customer screening and reporting to the Commission, and freezing obligations against designated persons.
• Wire transfers: Payment service providers must comply with wire transfer information and record-keeping requirements as payer, payee and intermediary, and must comply fully and without delay with Commission requirements, and notify the Commission of breaches.
• Cooperation with the Commission: Licensees and associated parties must permit and cooperate with GFSC site visits and information requirements, and banks and LCF licensees must meet their sector codes and rules, including AML/CFT obligations.

Sources: Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022 (Consolidated) · Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 · Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1999 · Disclosure (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2007 (Consolidated text) · Financial Services Commission (Site Visits) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance, 2008 (Consolidated Text) · Prescribed Businesses (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2008 (Consolidated text) · Terrorism and Crime (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002 (Consolidated text) · Transfer of Funds (Alderney) Ordinance, 2017 · Transfer of Funds (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2017 · Transfer of Funds (Sark) Ordinance, 2017 · Terrorism and Crime (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Regulations, 2007 (Consolidated text) · Financial Crime Returns Rules, 2025 · Code of Practice for Banks · Handbook on Countering Financial Crime (AML/CFT/CPF) (7 July 2026) · Financial Crime Returns Rules, 2026

Exemptions and carve-outs

The instruments provide several carve-outs, mostly by size, activity type or reduced obligation sets rather than blanket exclusions from the regime.

• NPO de minimis: Under the Charities and Non Profit Organisations (Investigatory Powers) Law, the Procureur cannot exercise the investigatory and freezing powers against an NPO with gross Bailiwick assets under 100,000 pounds or gross annual Bailiwick income under 20,000 pounds, unless there is evidence of unlawful conduct.
• Prescribed business exclusions: The Prescribed Businesses Law excludes specified categories from the definition, including high value dealing, casinos, small businesses, and certain paragraph 6 businesses not required to register.
• Cash transaction threshold: The Restriction on Cash Transactions Regulations bite only where a high value dealer sells or buys restricted articles for cash exceeding 10,000 pounds (or currency equivalent); transactions at or below that limit are unaffected.
• Registered directors: Registered directors are subject to a reduced set of Schedule 3 obligations, and are disapplied from formal risk understanding and assessment (paragraphs 2 and 3), introduced business (paragraph 10) and compliance and corporate responsibility (paragraph 15).
• Financial Crime Returns exclusions: The 2025 and 2026 Returns Rules do not apply to personal fiduciary licence holders, general-insurance-only licensees and intermediaries, certain LCF licensees limited to ancillary services or general insurance premium financing credit, and certain Schedule 2 paragraph 6 or Schedule 5 paragraph 1 businesses; the Commission may also exclude or modify application by written notice.
• LCF licensing exemptions: The Lending, Credit and Finance Law's licensing prohibitions are stated to be subject to exemptions and disapplication provisions, and the Rules apply unless the Commission grants a written exclusion or modification.

Privilege and confidentiality protections also operate as carve-outs from compulsion in several investigatory instruments, so that legally privileged material generally need not be disclosed.

Sources: Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022 (Consolidated) · Charities and Non Profit Organisations (Investigatory Powers) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2008 · Criminal Justice (Fraud Investigation) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1991 (Consolidated text) · Financial Services Commission (Site Visits) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance, 2008 (Consolidated Text) · Prescribed Businesses (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2008 (Consolidated text) · Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Restriction on Cash Transactions) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Regulations, 2008 · Financial Crime Returns Rules, 2025 · AML/CFT/CPF Guidance for DRR · Financial Crime Returns Rules, 2026

Enforcement and penalties

Enforcement runs through both criminal offences in the primary and subordinate legislation and the Commission's administrative powers. Specific penalty levels vary by instrument.

Criminal offences

• Proceeds of Crime Law: Creates money laundering offences (concealing, transferring, assisting retention, acquisition, possession or use of criminal property), tipping off, a corporate failure to prevent money laundering offence, and offences for non-compliance with investigatory orders; the summaries do not state the specific penalty levels.
• Site visits: Obstructing or failing to comply with a requirement, making false or misleading statements, or falsifying or destroying documents is punishable on summary conviction by up to 6 months imprisonment and/or a level 5 fine, and on indictment by up to 2 years imprisonment and/or a fine.
• Terrorism and Crime Regulations: Failing to provide required additional information is punishable summarily by up to 6 months imprisonment and/or a level 5 fine, or on indictment by up to 5 years imprisonment and/or a fine.
• Transfer of Funds Ordinances: Contravening the modified EU Regulation, unlawful disclosure, providing false information or obstruction is punishable on indictment by up to 5 years imprisonment and/or a fine, or on summary conviction by up to 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine.
• Cash transactions: A first breach of the cash limit carries a fine not exceeding level 2 on the uniform scale (stated as 1,000 pounds), and a second or subsequent breach a fine not exceeding twice the value of the cash involved.
• Sanctions offences: Under the Libya Ordinance, offences carry up to 2 years imprisonment and/or a fine on indictment, or up to 3 months and/or a level 5 fine summarily; contravening the Al-Qaida/ISIL EU Regulations is also an offence, with director and officer liability where there is consent, connivance or neglect.
• Fraud investigation: Failing to comply with a requirement, making false statements, or destroying or concealing documents under the fraud investigation Law can carry up to 7 years imprisonment on indictment.

Administrative and civil powers

• Prescribed businesses: The Commission may issue private reprimands, discretionary financial penalties, public statements and disqualification orders, and may apply to the court for winding up or injunctions against a registered prescribed business.
• GFSC enforcement: The Financial Services Commission Law confers enforcement powers including site visits and obtaining information from third parties; the summaries do not set out the specific financial penalty amounts.
• LCF Law: Investigation, prosecution and sanctions for the Lending, Credit and Finance Law are dealt with separately under the Financial Services Business (Enforcement Powers) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020, which is not itself indexed here.

Sources: Financial Services Commission (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1987 (Consolidated text) · Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022 (Consolidated) · Al-Qaida (Restrictive Measures) (Guernsey) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 · Criminal Justice (Fraud Investigation) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1991 (Consolidated text) · Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1999 · Financial Services Commission (Site Visits) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance, 2008 (Consolidated Text) · Libya (Restrictive Measures) (Guernsey) Ordinance 2016 · Prescribed Businesses (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2008 (Consolidated text) · Transfer of Funds (Alderney) Ordinance, 2017 · Transfer of Funds (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2017 · Transfer of Funds (Sark) Ordinance, 2017 · Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Restriction on Cash Transactions) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Regulations, 2008 · Terrorism and Crime (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Regulations, 2007 (Consolidated text)