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Russians, or those with links to Russia, have been the subject of more ‘Suspicious Activity Reports’ filed by Jersey businesses to the police.
New figures recently published by the Jersey Financial Intelligence Unit, a branch of the States of Jersey Police, reveal that there were 689 SARs filed in the first six months of this year, compared to 641 in 2021 – a 7% increase.
The unit attributes the rise to sanctions introduced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
Most SARs - 306 in the first half of this year - were reported by banks, representing 43.7% of the total.
Next came Trust and Corporate Service Providers, which reported 189 SARs, making up 29.3%.
It then dropped off to other sectors, including the Regulator itself, reporting 53 SARs over the half-year, which was 6.3% of the total.
Pictured: Jersey has brought in sanctions against the Russian regime, led by President Vladimir Putin, since the country invaded Ukraine in February.
In February and March this year, there were 46 SARs relating to ‘Politically Exposed Persons’ associated with the Russian Federation.
This fell to 21 in the second quarter, but this was still significantly more than the next country, Nigeria, which had 8 SARs for February and March and 3 SARs of Q2 for PEPs associated with the country.
30 Russian nationals identified as PEPs were the subject of SARs in February and March, and 15 over the second quarter.
45 Russian PEPs over the first half of this year was significantly more than the next-highest nationalities: British (13) and Nigerian (11).
The main grounds for a business, or the regulator, filing a SAR with the police was internet research / the media followed by evidence of false accounting, due diligence, and a tax or Tax Information Exchange Agreement matter.
Since the expansion of sanctions against Russian businesses and individuals since February, more than £1 billion-worth of Jersey-held assets have been frozen.
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