GFSC Denied Permission To Appeal At First Instance

The application was heard on 19 June 2023, with the decision being communicated by the Judge at the hearing. The formal note of the Judgment is now available, here.

The GFSC put forward various grounds, all of which were refused by the Judge. In summary:

1. First, the GFSC attempted to argue that the Judge had, amongst other things, "improperly pre-judged the issues" within the case. It was held that this argument by the GFSC represented a "complete distortion and misrepresentation" of the Judgment as a whole, and that this ground of appeal (along with the related arguments) had no real prospect of success.
2. The GFSC asserted that the Judge had misapplied the Guernsey Anti-Money Laundering Regime by taking into account, when considering the reasonableness and proportionality of the sanctions, the fact that the relevant breaches had not "in the event, resulted in any discernible damage to either members of the public or to the reputation of the Bailiwick". Once ag