At the conclusion of the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) plenary in February 2024, Gibraltar was removed from its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, also known as the grey list. Since the de-listing, following a brief period of just 18 months, Gibraltar’s whitelisting has also prompted both the UK and the EU to review Gibraltar’s status in the context of, in turn, HM Treasury’s list of high-risk countries for AML and, separately, the EU Commission’s regulation table. This recognition of Gibraltar’s commitment to international compliance and the work undertaken by both public and private stakeholders in the relevant industries, represents a significant opportunity for existing and prospective clients in the fields of financial services, private client, and corporate/commercial activity.
Providing robust regulatory frameworks, often in the context of innovation and emerging areas of business such as online gambling and cryptocurrency, Gibraltar’s approach has always been underpinned by a proactive approach to compliance and international cooperation. Notwithstanding the very narrow and focused reasons that prompted the jurisdiction’s brief spell on the grey list, this latest chapter in Gibraltar’s story has only reinforced our resolve to not only meet but exceed global standards.
Gibraltar’s appeal as an international centre of excellence for financial services that is fully compliant with all its international obligations, has never been in question. As the outgoing Chair of the FATF himself, Mr Raj Kumar, said in connection with news of Gibraltar’s white listing, ‘grey listing is not a punitive measure’, it is not a measure of non-compliance or of a lack of political will to comply. It is a tool used by the FATF to encourage strict alignment to a dynamic and ever-changing climate of compliance with which Gibraltar is, and always will be, fully aligned.
It is anticipated that, as news of these recent developments comes to the attention of clients and intermediaries alike, the Gibraltar proposition will regain its unquestionable appeal to private clients and businesses alike, looking for the right place to do business, in a tax-efficient, modern and sophisticated centre that offers the solutions they need.