22 May 2024
I have written to the UK’s Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell MP to express my
disappointment at his comments in last week’s Guardian article. I have made clear that I
believe the assertions relating to the Crown Dependencies are unsubstantiated and
unfounded, and not reflective of the cooperative and collaborative approach that Jersey and
the UK Government employ in our joint approach to fighting financial crime.
Importantly, we do not recognise the veracity of the statement that 40% of money
laundering around the world comes through London and overseas territories and crown
dependencies. This is notable, given that Jersey has carried out extensive risk assessment
work over many years, analysing our risk of exposure to proceeds of crime and we have
developed and implemented numerous policies and mechanisms to further mitigate those
risks, and much of this material is published and available online.
While Jersey is an autonomous jurisdiction with our own democratic and legislative
processes, we enjoy a positive and mutually beneficial working relationship with the UK
Government in many areas. We share common values, and we take our responsibilities as a
well-respected and effectively regulated international financial centre extremely seriously.
We have a long-standing track record on transparency and were among the first globally to
implement beneficial ownership registers, well ahead of the UK. Jersey has been extensively
evaluated by international bodies including MONEYVAL, the IMF and the World Bank.
In December 2023, we communicated to the UK Government, and publicly, our commitment
to take a progressive approach to further enhancing access to our register in line with the
emerging international standards, recognising the genuine needs of those requiring
information for the prevention of financial crime while also mindful of fundamental privacy
and human rights considerations.
This will result in the provision of access for those with a demonstrable legitimate interest
with respect to the purpose of preventing and combating money laundering, its predicate
offences and terrorist financing. Broader public access, absent of such legitimate interest, is
not being pursued.
We look forward to continuing to work closely with our UK colleagues through respectful
inter-governmental discussion and dialogue, to ensure we can achieve positive outcomes in
the best interests of all.
gov.je