ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING MEASURES IN JERSEY
Inspections by the JFSC - is Your Firm Ready for Audit?
The Money Laundering (Jersey) Order 2008 (MLO) took effect on the 1st May 2008, and the JFSC's Handbook for the Legal Sector was revised in July.
In pursuance of their powers the JFSC have started to audit law firms on the island for compliance with the MLO and their related duties under the Proceeds of Crime Law, as well as the Drug Trafficking Offences and Terrorism Laws.
What Needs To Be In Place?
The MLO does not apply to all law firms, or to all parts of any given firm, but where it does apply your responsibilities include the need to:
- Appoint a reporting officer and a compliance officer, perhaps with deputies
- Conduct a risk assessment against the practice and show how internal procedures have been planned accordingly
- Instigate client identity checking procedures, including checks for any beneficial interests of others and certain control and management issues
- Monitor the source of funds being used in transactions
- Establish reporting and checking procedures internally
- Keep certain records of both client identity checks and the work undertaken for the client, along with any disclosures made by the firm to the JFCU
In addition, the MLO requires that all 'relevant personnel' must have been trained in their responsibilities under these provisions.
If your firm is covered by the MLO all of the above should already be in place. Failure to comply with your responsibilities could lead to disciplinary measures by the Royal Court, and is also a criminal offence in its own right. Given the importance of investment and professional services to the Island's economy, strict enforcement can be expected from the authorities.
If you were to be audited next week, could you be sure that you have addressed all of your responsibilities?
The JFSC Audit Approach
The questions that the JFSC are likely to raise in advance of your audit, and may require to see at it, will include:
- Details of when your risk assessment was last updated
- A copy of your risk assessment
- A structure chart showing the reporting lines between the reporting officer, the compliance officer and the rest of the firm
- Interview forms and procedures for staff selection to ensure that the probity of new joiners is addressed as required by the MLO
- Staff training materials
The Web4Law Compliance Manual and Training CD will supply you with the means to respond to this questionnaire and we would be pleased to assist you in its completion during a consultancy visit if required.
Can We Simply Adopt the Handbook?
No - clause 15 of the Handbook states that it is not intended to be used by firms as an internal procedures manual.
How Can Web4Law Help?
Web4Law are one of the leading risk management and compliance consultancies for lawyers in the UK. We have trained and advised many hundreds of firms in England and Wales as to their compliance responsibilities since the equivalent provisions took effect several years ago.
In addition to our advice and training work we have also produced a range of practical tools to enable firms to meet their compliance responsibilities. These include:
- A practical compliance guide, including an easy to complete template manual
- A training CD including PowerPoint presentations for fee earner and support staff training sessions in-house
Through our work in Jersey in recent months we have been able to adapt all of these tried and tested products to the Island's compliance regime. Why spend days or weeks of time in working out how the regime impacts on your firm, when professional guidance is readily at hand?
ON OFFER NOW
The Web4Law Jersey Money Laundering Compliance Manual
An 18,000 words practical guide to the MLO and the disclosure regime required by the Proceeds of Crime Law and other related provisions. This is not simply a book on money laundering issues - it is a self-help manual taking the user through the necessary risk assessment procedures and the drafting of the sample procedures provided.
Training CD
Two simple presentations with accompanying training materials for use within your firm explaining the Jersey regime, containing a longer partner/fee earner session and a shorter support staff session. The disc can be viewed individually or collectively in your boardroom.
The One Day Consultation Package
The Web4Law Jersey Manual and Training CD are both intended as stand-alone products, but why not combine them with a one day visit from one of our expert consultants? We are happy to spend the day as you wish, and could typically explain key provisions to you, undertake the necessary risk assessment process and conduct partner and staff training sessions (with CPD for solicitors admitted in England and Wales if required).
“I made contact with Matthew Moore in relation to our AML programme at the recommendation of another consultant based in England. Matthew has been very active in advising and training firms in the UK on this and other topics and visited us at short notice to deliver two days of training in May of this year. In advance he managed to master not only the applicable law but also the complexities of our set-up in Jersey. His training was uniformly well received by all levels of personnel within the firm. Since that time we have commissioned further advice on how we should implement the Money Laundering Order within the firm and his response has been first rate, often turning around our queries overnight or at weekends. I have no hesitation in recommending him to other Jersey lawyers.”