Transparency International Report Slams UK Anti-Laundering Regime, Praises Dependencies

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News, London

27 June 2003

Reporting on the latest study from international anti-corruption body, Transparency International (TI), the Jersey Evening Post on Wednesday welcomed the organisation's observations with regard to the Channel Islands.

Suggesting that the scope of the money-laundering problem in the United Kingdom is 'staggeringly large', and that around £18 billion is laundered through the country's banking system each year, the TI report's author - Gibraltar Financial Services Commission chairman, Marcus Killick - proceeded to heap praise on Crown dependencies such as Jersey and Guernsey, according to the JEP.

Mr Killick went on to list times that the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man have been quicker off the mark than the UK in consulting with the finance industry and issuing anti-money laundering legislation, citing in particular the release in 2000 of the joint consultative paper entitled 'Overriding Principles for a Revised Know Your Customer Framework', which came ahead of the introduction of the UK's All Crimes Legislation.

According to the Jersey Evening Post, the GFSC head observed that:

'There is a gradual recognition by the international community, if not by the media, that there is a clear distinction between a well-regulated offshore centre and under-regulated ones. The well-run centres can set an example to a number of onshore jurisdictions, such as in the regulation of company and trust service providers.'

In a particularly stinging final rebuke, he suggested that:

'In respect of dependencies, the UK can do more in particular by defending the well-regulated dependencies from unjustified criticism.'

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