Jersey

Jersey regulates trusts

Jersey has moved to regulate the island’s approximately 300 trust and company service providers with the implementation of the new Financial Services (Extension) (Jersey) Law. Trust companies will need to be licensed from 2 February 2001 and associated codes of practice impose know your customer and suspicious activity reporting requirements. They will also have to meet solvency and competence standards. Commenting on the new statute, Richard Pratt, Director General of the Jersey Financial Services Commission, said, “The major ity of businesses in this sector already impose high standards but this law will enable use to ensure that they all do. This is a financial area that is seen as potentially vulnerable to money launder ing, and although it is already subject to anti-money laundering legislation on UK lines, this new law allows us further powers.” The Commission is now able to visit the businesses to check compliance. Jersey claims that no other jurisdiction operates such a complete regulatory regime for this sector and notes that it is still unregulated in major financial centres, including London.