Looking Ahead To Moneyval - What Is Next For Guernsey?

In the midst of the ongoing global turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Guernsey's finance industry has emerged from the local lockdown in a relatively strong condition.

Given the Bailiwick's successes in relation to public health, the GFSC has already resumed routine onsite inspections and is in the process enhancing the financial crime risk returns that are submitted annually by regulated firms. It is also timely to recall that the revised September deadline for boards to approve money-laundering and terrorist financing business risk assessments (following the publication of the revised Handbook) is fast approaching.

While it is still too early to make meaningful predictions about the length and scope of any continuing disruption caused by the pandemic, at this stage it seems reasonable to assume that Guernsey's next Moneyval¹ assessment will proceed in 2021 or 2022 (broadly in line with original expectations). In this context, it would be imprudent for