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Guernsey's finance industry is facing global scrutiny today after it was confirmed that a local financial consultant worked for Rifaat al-Assad – known as the 'Butcher of Hama'.
al-Assad, previously named as 'Client 1' by the GFSC, used his Guernsey-based advisor to secretly manage his family's vast wealth.
Nine days ago his nephew’s rule over Syria came to an end, when Syrian rebels took control of the country.
Reports from across the globe suggest the former-dictator, Bashar al-Assad, was granted asylum in Russia.
The family's links with Guernsey have now been highlighted.
Express first reported on the case in March, when a mystery client’s name and details were kept under lock and key in a ruling against a woman working in the island.
Ginettte Louise Blondel was fined £210k and banned from holding certain company positions, after an investigation by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission found she had worked for an 'alleged war criminal'. She had carried out that work without a licence.
Their identity was not confirmed until now, with the Butcher of Hama’s name revealed by a joint investigation into the case by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Guardian.
Pictured: Rifaat al-Assad during the 1980's, when he earned his nickname of the 'Butcher of Hama' for his role overseeing the violent suppression of a rebellion. (Wikipedia)
al-Assad had been a major client of Ms Blondel’s when she worked as a Trust Manager in Guernsey.
When she left her employment 'Client 1'’s company structures were migrated to a Corporate Service Provider outside the Bailiwick, and Ms Blondel joined the operation in 2013 as a personal assistant.
Ms Blondel also accepted two directorships for al-Assad’s entities in 2013 and went on to hold a total of 11 directorships linked to him.
The Commission found that Ms Blondel’s role went beyond that of a personal assistant and involved consultation, advice on the transfer of entities out of Guernsey, and further advice on loan positions. These all constituted regulated activities under the Fiduciaries Law.
She also used a personal bank account to facilitate payments on behalf of al-Assad. The Commission said back in March that “these payments led to a very real risk that Ms Blondel may have been used to launder the proceeds of crime, a risk which Ms Blondel has consistently failed to recognise”.
Although al-Assad’s identity is now known, the mystery of a second client linked to Ms Blondel remains unknown.
Ms Blondel was introduced to Client 2’s family office in 2014. The family again comprised of politically exposed persons.
They were noted as being high risk, as various media reports had alleged the family had been involved in a “monopolistic business empire” had “close ties with the ruling family of the jurisdiction they were in” and had been “allegedly involved in corrupt practices”.
Express has approached both the States of Guernsey and the Guernsey Financial Services Commission for comment.
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£210k fine for working with alleged war criminal without a licence
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