Sanne Fiduciary Services Limited (SFSL) (2019-07-17)

Summary

This is a public statement issued by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) under Article 25(ba) of the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998, disclosing the outcome of an investigation into Sanne Fiduciary Services Limited (SFSL). It sets out findings that SFSL breached Principle 3 of the Codes of Practice for Fund Services Business and Trust Company Business by failing to fully remediate identified issues within an agreed timeframe, and records the resulting financial penalty.

• Breach found: SFSL contravened Principle 3 of the Codes (failure to organise and control its affairs effectively) by not fully remediating issues identified in 2014 and 2015 reviews within the agreed 2016 timeframe.
• Areas of concern: Subsequent internal audit and compliance reviews identified further issues relating to conflicts of interest, compliance monitoring and planning, timely risk escalation, and staff training (including AML awareness and record keeping).
• Mitigating factors: SFSL voluntarily self-reported, cooperated with the JFSC, engaged third-party experts, strengthened governance and controls, and implemented a training programme; no client losses resulted.
• Sanction: The JFSC's Board of Commissioners imposed a financial penalty of £381,010 pursuant to the Financial Services Commission (Financial Penalties) (Jersey) Order 2015.
• Industry learning points: The JFSC sets out expectations for boards of registered persons undertaking remediation exercises, including verifying task completion, ensuring clear governance accountability, adequately resourcing risk and compliance functions, maintaining systems to identify and report risks, and providing relevant staff training.

This is a case-specific enforcement notice concerning SFSL rather than a rule change; its main ongoing relevance to industry is the set of expectations the JFSC articulates for governance, resourcing and monitoring of remediation exercises by registered persons.

Applies to

fund services business, trust company business, registered persons under the Codes of Practice