Guernsey’s new anti-money-laundering regime requires a  constant eye on compliance, says Chris Le Marchant (pictured) of Le Marchant Regulatory Risk Services.

The end of 2007 saw the introduction of a whole raft of new anti-money-laundering laws, rules and regulations in Guernsey. That trend continued in 2008 as a glance at this year’s legislative timetable will show.

It is no coincidence that the IMF is going to carry out a review of the island this year. I am sure if you looked at the legislation passed in the months leading up to the last review, you would see that there was a similar raft of new regulatory laws.

This time, the anti-money-laundering/ anti-terrorist-financing regime has been revamped to give a change in emphasis, creating what has become known as the ‘risk-based approach’. For example, the new anti-money-laundering regulations state clearly that financial services businesses must carry out a ‘suitable and sufficient business risk assessment’. The GFSC’s new handbook on countering financial crime and terrorist financing gives firms some topics to consider when they produce their risk assessment.