The Guernsey Financial Services Commission has published a public statement detailing its 20 January 2022 decision to fine Robert Archibald Gilchrist Sinclair GBP 196,000, prohibit him for 5.6 years from acting as a controller, director, partner, manager, money laundering reporting officer and money laundering compliance officer, and disapply a fiduciary exemption for the same period. The commission concluded that, while serving as managing director and holding senior AML and compliance roles at a licensed fiduciary company, he failed to ensure the firm properly monitored and managed financial crime risk and was not a fit and proper person. The investigation, which followed a full risk assessment in December 2018, found serious and systemic failings across AML/CFT controls and governance. These included weak monitoring of high-risk and politically exposed clients, failure to establish source of funds and source of wealth, inadequate review of risk assessments and ownership changes, weak procedures for suspicious activity disclosures, failure to understand legacy business, unmanaged conflicts of interest, inadequate internal controls and failure to deal with the commission in an open and cooperative manner. The statement highlights cases in which client structures and payments were used in ways that obscured ownership or the origin of funds, ownership changes involving a politically exposed person went undetected for long periods, substantial share gifts from a client created conflicts, and the firm lacked controls over cryptocurrency-related inflows. The commission also found that Mr Sinclair had not fully explained the extent of outstanding remediation issues to the regulator. An early settlement discount was applied because he cooperated and agreed to settle.
Guernsey Financial Services Commission2026-07-03
Guernsey Financial Services Commission details GBP 196,000 penalty and 5.6-year ban for former fiduciary managing director over systemic AML and governance failings
The Guernsey Financial Services Commission has published a public statement on its 20 January 2022 decision to fine Robert Archibald Gilchrist Sinclair GBP 196,000 and bar him from senior fiduciary and AML roles for 5.6 years. The action followed findings of serious and systemic failings in AML/CFT controls, governance and regulatory cooperation at a licensed fiduciary company where he was managing director. The commission also concluded he was not fit and proper, with an early settlement discount applied to the sanctions.