Following the Government's statement regard the FATF Grey List, the GSD have called for the Minister for Financial Services  to make a statement in Parliament “as to what practical and urgent steps are being taken to satisfy FATF that Gibraltar should be delisted at their next meeting in October 2023.”  

A statement from the GSD follows below: 

The decision of the FATF on 23 June not to accept that Gibraltar had completed its action plan and thus  maintain the Grey List status is frustrating. The Government’s response is underwhelming in its lack of detail  as to the roadmap to achieve delisting. The optimism of the Minister for Financial Services Hon Albert Isola  MP last year that he was 100% certain of delisting by now was evidently misplaced.  

Roy Clinton MP the GSD Shadow Minster for Financial Services and Gaming stated the following:  

“The Minister for Financial Services Hon Albert Isola MP continues to express optimism that Gibraltar will  achieve delisting but he must accept that there is a growing sense of frustration at the failure to deliver on that  optimism. Indeed in June 2022 the Government had stated it would show compliance ‘within the timescale  given’, that time has now expired.  

The Minister will be aware that our financial services industry is suffering at the ignominy of being listed  between Congo and Haiti as a high risk jurisdiction.  

FATF in its report stated that Gibraltar needed to show that we are ‘able to pursue more final confiscation  judgements commensurate with the risk and context of Gibraltar’. In June 2022 the GSD raised this as a  potential issue given that the achievement of confiscation orders were necessarily outside political control.  However there may be laws that Government could review to ensure the mandatory pursuit of confiscation  proceedings in a greater number of cases. In addition we need reassurance that the resourcing of the analysis  and investigation units of the RGP are adequate in pursuing potential money laundering activities.  

The Cayman Islands had a similar point to address and FATF have now accepted they have met their action  plan so as to commence the process for delisting in October 2023, after an onsite visit. Is there anything we  can learn from the success of the Cayman Islands approach?  

Given FATF state that ‘all deadlines have expired’ we invite the Minister to make a statement in Parliament  as to what practical and urgent steps are being taken to satisfy FATF that Gibraltar should be delisted at their  next meeting in October 2023.’