Guernsey - Judgement re TREVOR KELHAM & THE GFSC – the court backed the GFSC.
26/07/2023
Judgement re TREVOR KELHAM [Appellant] And CHAIRMAN OF THE GUERNSEY FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMISSION [Respondent]
INTRO
- Standard Chartered Guernsey's former CEO TREVOR KELHAM fought to overturn a ban and fine imposed for his role in how the firm dealt with more than $1bn of tainted assets.
- The GFSC banned Trevor Kelham from holding senior finance roles on the island for four years and fined him £45,000 after events at Standard Chartered Trust (Guernsey) from 2012 to 2016.
- The investigation centred around transactions in and out of Guernsey without proper checks and assets worth around $1.2bn that were red-flagged after an independent review.
TREVOR KELHAM challenged the GFSC fine and lost.
- THE GFSC successfully defended a Royal Court appeal against its fine and prohibition order from the former managing director.
- The GFSC have made available the judgment [18th April 2023] of the Deputy Bailiff given in response to Mr Kelham’s appeal against the sanctions imposed on him by the Commission’s Senior Decision Maker.
- Those sanctions were covered separately in the public statement we issued on 18 May 2023 following Mr Kelham’s decision not to further appeal the matter.
- This appeal hearing was previously confidential, having been heard under the auspices of the Commission's enforcement practices and relevant laws which were in place prior to the passage of The Financial Services Business (Enforcement Powers) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020.
- The new law removed the prior presumption that appeals against Commission decisions would be held in camera.
- Deputy Bailiff Jessica Roland backed the decision-making by the GFSC, which has now published the appeal judgement on its website.
The decision is interesting in many respects, including the following
Highlights and insights
- Into a "bank-led" trust company - including internal delegation.
- Into transfers from one trustee to another.
- On the role of a regulator and the reputation of Guernsey
- About internal processes and procedures. Together with reporting etc.
- About potential CRS evasion before 31/12/15
- When an individual may be liable in addition to a licensee (although one of the findings found that the Board as a whole is responsible for oversight not one director)
Source
The Team
Meet the team of industry experts behind Comsure
Find out moreLatest News
Keep up to date with the very latest news from Comsure
Find out moreGallery
View our latest imagery from our news and work
Find out moreContact
Think we can help you and your business? Chat to us today
Get In TouchNews Disclaimer
As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.