Read the JFSC Annual Report 2018 here, and the contents index is shown here:
- Highlights & achievements p.01 – 02
- Jersey Financial Services Commission: our role 03 – 08
- Vision from the top: Chairman’s statement 09 – 14
- A smart outlook: Director General’s statement 15 – 18
- Business review 19 – 64 Charting change 23 – 3 0
- Policy 35 – 38
- Supervision 39 – 44
- Enforcement 45 – 48
- Registry 49 – 52
- Operations 53 – 54
- Our people 55 – 58
- Corporate Social Responsibility 59– 62
- Finance and resources 63 – 64
- Governance 65 – 76
- Independent auditor’s report to the Chief Minister of the States of Jersey 77 – 82
- Financial statements 83 – 10
- Appendices 101 –106
- Notes 107
- Glossary
The following is taken from page 45 (the enforcement section)
- The JFSC Enforcement team takes action against businesses and individuals that do not comply with the JFSC regulatory and legal requirements. The JFSC investigate actual and potential cases of serious regulatory misconduct.
- Where appropriate, the JFSC will engage and work constructively with the JFSC regulated community so that the JFSC achieve successful outcomes.
- The JFSC seek to act firmly but fairly, working alongside colleagues in Supervision, to ensure regulated businesses and individuals take steps to resolve issues, particularly when breaches are self-reported by firms.
- Where breaches are particularly serious or efforts to address shortcomings fail, the JFSC will use its statutory powers and are prepared to impose a range of sanctions.
These include:
- restricting or preventing people from working in the finance industry,
- revoking a firm’s licence,
- issuing public warning notices,
- imposing civil financial penalties and :
- referring cases to the States of Jersey Police or Attorney General for consideration of criminal prosecution
- In 2018, Jersey had its first criminal conviction for conducting unauthorised financial services business.
- Members of both the JFSC Enforcement and Supervision teams gave evidence in the trial which led to an independent financial adviser being convicted of:defrauding his clients,providing false and misleading information to the JFSC and conducting unauthorised financial services business.
- The seven-year prison sentence he received from the Royal Court sent a strong message to anyone contemplating defrauding the investing public or seeking to evade regulatory laws.
- In May, the Royal Court handed down a landmark judgment in favour of the JFSC’s decision to issue a direction and public statement against a former principal person.
- The Court agreed that the JFSC had acted reasonably in concluding that the individual had acted with a serious lack of integrity and displayed incompetence of the most serious kind.
- In terms of active investigation in 2018, it was a particularly challenging and busy year for the JFSC 12-strong team who dealt with 142 cases in total. The type of cases varied with investigations into
- regulated businesses failing to comply with their anti-money laundering obligations,
- mis-selling investments to retail clients, and
- individuals conducting unauthorised financial services business.
- Where appropriate, the JFSC issued public warnings in accordance with the JFSC guiding principles.
- In 2018 the JFSC
- started 77 new investigations during the year,
- carried over 65 cases from 2017
- provided assistance to overseas regulators by securing evidence in the Island (In nine [9] cases)
- issued 124 notices requiring individuals to produce evidence and information for the JFSC investigations.
- received 33 whistleblowing calls in 2018.
- Whistleblowers continue to play an important role in identifying the most serious misconduct and breaches
- The JFSC remain committed to preserving the identity of whistleblowers, even where individuals prefer to communicate through face-to-face meetings.
- Accessing reliable and timely intelligence is a key part of undertaking effective and focused investigations
- In addition to managing the JFSC’s own in-house intelligence unit, the JFSC Enforcement team also works closely with the States of Jersey Police and Customs Joint Financial Crimes Unit to make the maximum use of intelligence, which often originates from Industry.
- In 2018 the JFSC timely exchange of intelligence helped protect some of Jersey’s vulnerable Islanders from falling victim to financial crime.
- In October 2018, the JFSC gained the power to extend financial penalties to individuals in addition to businesses, following an amendment to the law.
- The threshold for imposing civil financial penalties was lowered to include negligent breaches of the JFSC Codes of Practice.
- These changes are likely to see the increased use of civil financial penalties in 2019.
Read the JFSC Annual Report 2018 here