In order to combat tax evasion, money laundering and terrorist financing, it is important to know the individual who is ultimately behind every company – the beneficial owner.
International standards on collecting information on the beneficial owners are improving, but Jersey is a world-leader.
- Jersey is one of only a few jurisdictions with an effective, fit-for-purpose central register of company beneficial ownership
- The information contained within Jersey's register is subject to strict and robust validation by regulated professionals
- The register, together with other legal and regulatory requirements, enables Jersey to provide law enforcement and tax authorities with 'adequate, accurate and timely' data on the beneficial ownership of Jersey companies
- Jersey's model is in line with the international standards of the FATF Recommendations
Jersey has collected information about the beneficial owners of companies since 1989. You can find out more by downloading The Jersey Model factsheet.
In 2015 Jersey Finance commissioned Professor Jason Sharman to analyse the effectiveness of central registries and licenced intermediaries in combatting financial crime. You can download his paper, and see the speech that he presented on it:
Solving the Beneficial Ownership Conundrum: Central Registries and Licenced Intermediaries
Transparency and Public Registries
While the information in Jersey's registry is available to tax and law enforcement authorities, it is not public. You can find out why Jersey has taken this approach – and why Jersey thinks a public registry may not be effective in combatting financial crime, in these factsheets:
Public Registries: A New Global Standard?
MONEYVAL: independent endorsement of the Jersey model
Jersey's institutional, legislative and regulatory framework to deter money laundering and the financing of terrorism through financial institutions has been independently assessed by MONEYVAL - the Council of Europe's Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism.
The latest MONEYVAL report on Jersey was published on 24 May 2016 and gave Jersey a very positive rating.
It described Jersey as having a:
"mature and sophisticated regime for tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism".
Read more about Jersey's MONEYVAL assessment 2016
Linkedin - www.linkedin.com/company/jersey-finance
Twitter - @jerseyfinance
Youtube - www.youtube.com/jerseyfinance
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
