Guernsey Financial Services Commission adds Malta to AML CFT Handbook equivalent jurisdictions list

The Guernsey Financial Services Commission has updated its Handbook on Countering Financial Crime and Terrorist Financing to include Malta in Appendix C, the list of jurisdictions it considers equivalent for certain anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism purposes. Appendix C covers countries and territories where businesses are expected to have measures consistent with the Financial Action Task Force Recommendations and to be appropriately supervised for compliance, but inclusion does not indicate that a jurisdiction is intrinsically low-risk. Adding Malta means that, in the circumstances specified in the Handbook, certain customer due diligence concessions may be applied to Malta-connected business, but firms should only apply low-risk CDD measures where supported by a customer risk assessment that considers all relevant risk factors rather than relying solely on Appendix C status.