Geoff Cook, Chief Executive of Jersey Finance Limited, the body which promotes the island's financial services industry, has described the United Kingdom Treasury's recently announced review of the British Crown Dependencies as not a threat, but an opportunity to demonstrate the high standards of regulation currently in place.
Commenting on the review, announced as part of UK Chancellor Alistair Darling's pre-budget report, Cook said: “this review provides us with an opportunity to again demonstrate the high standards of regulation that are in place in Jersey, together with the actions we have taken to support the drive for greater transparency in global financial services. Our standards of compliance and governance are world class and we have the facts to support this.”
The review comes only a short time after Darling labelled the Isle of Man, another British Crown Dependency, as a "tax haven" when answering questions at the Treasury Select Committee on the position of depositors with Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Isle of Man. Darling suggested at the time that the relationship between the UK and the Isle of Man should be reviewed.
The UK Home Office last conducted a review of the British Crown Dependencies ten years ago. Jersey Finance said that this review listed a number of recommendations which have subsequently been implemented, and described Jersey as being in the top division of offshore centres.
According to Jersey Finance, this review proved to be a helpful report in endorsing Jersey’s strengths in the areas of regulation and supervision in the years following its publication. Since then, the Island’s Finance Industry has continued to grow successfully, whilst at the same time earning third party endorsement for its standards from a variety of important global bodies including the International Monetary Fund, the Financial Action Task Force and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Jersey Finance said that the UK Treasury recently listed Jersey as a country it considers has regulation and systems to combat money laundering and terrorism financing which were equivalent to EU standards and acknowledged that Jersey and the other Crown Dependencies were fully compliant with international standards.
"Jersey is active in the OECD tax harmonisation programme and is ahead of most other jurisdictions in signing tax information exchange agreements, which are seen by the OECD as effective in fighting international tax fraud and evasion. Jersey has already signed ten with more planned and the Island’s willingness to engage in this process was recognised by the OECD only last month at a conference in Paris," the agency stated.
Cook added: “so whilst we cannot be complacent, the industry believes that with the robust regulatory and supervisory standards we have in place today, we can participate in this review with considerable confidence. Our standards of compliance and governance are world class and we have the facts to support it.”
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