Standard Chartered has confirmed that its Guernsey trust business has been liquidated following an application by the bank.
On 19 May 2020, the Royal Court of Guernsey ordered Standard Chartered Trust (Guernsey) be wound up, the bank confirmed on its website.
The court appointed Alex Adam, Andy Wood and Stephen Browne of accountancy giant Deloitte as joint liquidators.
Standard Chartered said in the statement: “Please be aware that the company no longer offers trust and fiduciary services in Guernsey.
“Any questions relating to the liquidation or data requests can be directed to the joint liquidators.”
International Adviser has contacted Standard Chartered and the joint liquidators for further details.
The bank offered no further comment on the liquidation, while Deloitte did not reply in time for publication.
Regulator fine
Elsewhere, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) has fined Standard Chartered Trust (Guernsey).
On 4 June 2020, the GFSC imposed, on an agreed basis, a discretionary financial penalty of £140,000 ($175,468, €155,812).
The GFSC said: “This was as a result of historical failures to meet the minimum criteria for licensing in respect of Schedule 1 of The Regulation of Fiduciaries, Administration Businesses and Company Directors, etc (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2000.”
IA contacted the GFSC, however the regulator refused to comment on the matter at this “present time”.
A spokesperson for Standard Chartered added: “Standard Chartered Trust (Guernsey) is pleased to have resolved this historical issue.
“We are unable to comment further at this stage.”
Historical events
It is not the first time that the Guernsey-based business has made headlines.
In March 2018, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) fined Standard Chartered S$6.4m (£3.5m, $4.9m €3.9m) for breaches to anti-money laundering and countering the financial of terrorism following the transfer of trusts from Guernsey.
Two fines were imposed, with S$5.2m against the Singapore branch of Standard Chartered Bank (SCBS) and S$1.2m against Standard Chartered Trust (Singapore) (SCTS).
According to MAS at the time: “These breaches occurred when trust accounts of SCBS’s customers were transferred from Standard Chartered Trust (Guernsey) to SCTS from December 2015 to January 2016.”
The risk management and controls in relation to the transfers were found to be “unsatisfactory”.
The trusts were transferred shortly before Guernsey implemented the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
