Jersey Signs Information Exchange Deal With France

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

04 December 2001

It was revealed on Monday that the Jersey authorities have signed an information exchange deal with French financial regulators in order to head off accusations that the offshore jurisdiction is lax on financial crime. The agreement covers offences such as market manipulation and unlicensed financial service provision, and is intended as the first in a series of accords with overseas financial authorities.

The Channel Island was one of the targets of a scathing 400 page report in early October, in which a French Parliamentary Committee recommended the tightening of UK financial services regulation and the dismantling of offshore crown dependent financial centres in Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle Of Man, and Gibraltar.

However, the jurisdiction has indicated repeatedly that it is keen to preserve its good reputation, and has enacted significant amounts of additional legislation to combat money laundering in the wake of the September 11th attacks, including a Terrorist Financing Order allowing the authorities to freeze assets of individuals and organisations named by President Bush in the Executive Orders.

It is hoped that this latest agreement between the Jersey authorities and the French stock market regulator, the Commission des Operations de Bourse, will provide further evidence for the international community of Jersey's willingness to cooperate.

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