Jersey Issues New Guidance Notes and Receives Approval for US Qualified Intermediary Status

On August 23, 2000, the Jersey Financial Services Commission issued an Anti-Money Laundering Guidance Update that provides guidance to the financial services industry, especially in doing business with sensitive sources. On October 2, 2000, the IRS approved Jersey’s know your customer rules for purposes of the Qualifying Intermediary Regulations. 1. Anti-Money Laundering Guidance The issuance of the new Anti-Money Laundering Guidance Notes for the Finance Sector results from a number of important money laundering initiatives underway or having recently been completed: (1) the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has issued a consultation paper (number 46) entitled “Money Laundering: the FSA’s new role (“the FSA Sourcebook”); (2) the UK’s Joint Money Laundering Steering Group has issued draft revised Anti-Money Laundering Guidance Notes, incorporating the contents of the FSA Sourcebook, and generally updating previous guidance no longer considered appropriate or relevant; (3) a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) style mutual evaluation was undertaken in 1999 of Jersey’s anti-money laundering legislation and practice with the final report to be approved by the Offshore Group of Banking Supervisors in September 2000; (4) in June 2000 the FATF released its report on non-cooperating jurisdictions, highlighting three issues common to Jersey, Guernsey, the Island of Man, and Gibraltar; and (5) a proposed extension to the European Union Money Laundering Directive is imminent....[more]