STM Fiduciaire Corporate Limited (2015-07-07)

Summary

This is a public statement issued by the Jersey Financial Services Commission under Article 25 of the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998 concerning STM Fiduciaire Corporate Limited and its affiliated Jersey entities (together, STM Jersey). It sets out the findings of a Commission investigation into STM Jersey's handling of internal suspicious activity reports (SARs) and related corporate governance failings, and describes the remedial action taken by the firm.

• Investigation findings: Between October 2010 and March 2012, internal SARs concerning nineteen individuals or entities were filed with the MLRO; only three were acknowledged, and none were externalised to the Joint Financial Crimes Unit.
• Governance failings: The MLRO deliberately misled the board about the SARs, oversight of the MLRO and compliance function was deficient, and the board met irregularly with compliance matters not properly considered.
• Breaches identified: The Commission found breaches of Principle 3 of the Codes of Practice for Trust Company Business, relating to corporate governance, internal systems and controls, staff integrity and competence, and the compliance/MLRO/MLCO functions.
• Remedial action taken: STM Jersey dismissed the former MLRO, replaced its Managing Director, appointed new local directors, a new MLRO, MLCO and Compliance Officer, tightened internal processes, and implemented a remediation programme to be monitored by the Commission.

The statement is disclosure of enforcement findings against a named entity rather than a general rule change; it does not impose new ongoing obligations on the wider trust company business sector, but illustrates the Commission's expectations under the Codes of Practice for Trust Company Business.

Applies to

Trust Company Business, STM Fiduciaire Corporate Limited and affiliated members (STM Jersey)