Jersey Finance | View firm profile
19 June 2019
Jersey Finance comments on jurisdiction’s commitment to move towards public registers of beneficial ownership
Jersey Finance acknowledges the announcement this week from the Government of Jersey that the jurisdiction has made political commitments to align itself with the principles as set out by the EU’s 5th Anti Money Laundering Directive and move towards a public register of beneficial ownership for companies.
Joe Moynihan, CEO, Jersey Finance, said:
“This move is the result of ongoing engagement between the authorities in Jersey and counterparts in the other Crown Dependencies, the EU and the UK. The EU’s most recent directive on anti-money laundering sets out a timescale for Member States to adopt a common approach to establishing central, interconnected and ultimately public registers and there is a real sense that there is now a clear direction of travel towards an international standard.
“As a cooperative jurisdiction and a good neighbour to the EU, Jersey shares the objective of tackling financial crime and has said all along that it would move on this issue in line with international standards. Now is the right time to make this positive and strategically important move that will position Jersey well for the future.
“Jersey has had a central company register populated by accurate, verified and up-to-date data for some 30 years, but this latest move means that in due course information will also be publicly accessible. It puts Jersey in a far more advanced position than most other countries globally and right at the forefront of the transparency debate.
“As an industry, we are now looking ahead to working together with government and other partners to move forward on these commitments in a sensible and pragmatic way, as we continue to play a positive role in tackling financial crime and adding value to the global economy.”
The government of Jersey’s full statement can be found at www.gov.je/News/2019/Pages/BeneficialOwnership.aspx
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For further information, please contact Adam Riddell on tel. +44 (0) 1534 618613 or e-mail [email protected]