Gambling ex-insurance worker barred from finance

Monday 19 November 2018

An ex-insurance company employee, whose gambling habit propelled him to steal over £1,500 of client money, has been barred from working in “high value” jobs again.

Jersey’s financial services regulator, the JFSC, issued the notice relating to Matthew Ramsay Collins (38) last week.

It came five months after he was sentenced to jail time after admitting the theft from his former employer, Clegg Gifford, in the Magistrate’s Court.

In total, he took £1,551 from the insurance broker between 24 August 2017 and 8 December 2017, in lump sums varying between £60 and £786.

Pictured: The Magistrate’s Court, where Collins faced his sentence in June. 

He also pleaded guilty to computer misuse, having altered data to conceal his crimes. 

Having considered his case, the JFSC have now moved to stop Collins from holding a financial role again. 

In a public statement, the regulator dubbed him “not fit and proper to work in any capacity for any business regulated by the JFSC”, including law, lending and accountancy firms, estate agents and any other “high value goods dealers.”

Should Collins enter one of these roles upon completion of his prison sentence, he “will commit an offence” under the Financial Services (Jersey) Law unless he makes a successful application to the JFSC to revoke his blacklisting. 

Justifying its decision, the JFSC's statement said that its actions "support its objectives of reducing the risk to the public of financial loss and protecting and enhancing the reputation and integrity of Jersey in commercial and financial matters."