The governments of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man welcome the decision of the UK Government to defer debate of the Financial Services (Implementation of Legislation) Bill, and its associated amendments.
This deferral provides the opportunity for meaningful engagement with UK Ministers and parliamentarians on the matter of public registers of beneficial ownership, in a way that does not contravene the well-established constitutional relationships between our Islands and the Crown.
In particular, we want to move forward in a way that does not breach the rule that the United Kingdom does not legislate for the Crown Dependencies on domestic matters without our consent.
All of the Crown Dependencies observe the highest standards of financial services regulation and transparency.
We share a common policy aim with the United Kingdom of preventing international financial systems being used for criminal activity.
We are committed to exchanging adequate, accurate and current information on beneficial ownership to combat tax evasion, money laundering and corruption. Our track records on this matter, including the Exchange of Notes agreement we entered into with the United Kingdom in 2016, demonstrates that commitment.
We are determined to work with the UK Government, the OECD and FATF in order to develop an effective global standard that addresses the global problems of financial crime and tax evasion.
