Stablecoin issuer / redeemer in Guernsey

VASP Definition: The GFSC recognizes "virtual asset custody wallet providers" as a type of VASP. Providing such services falls within the scope of regulated activities.

The Regulation of Fiduciaries, Administration Businesses and Company Directors, etc. (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2000: https://www.gfsc.gg/commission/laws-regulations/fiduciaries-law

Application Process: Prospective licensees must submit a comprehensive application to the GFSC, demonstrating:

A robust business plan.

Sound governance arrangements.

Adequate financial resources (capital requirements vary based on the nature and scale of the business).

Experienced and fit and proper directors and senior management.

Comprehensive risk management policies and procedures, including cybersecurity.

Robust Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CFT) frameworks.

Operational resilience plans.

Core Principle: Licensed custodians must ensure that client virtual assets are clearly separated and identifiable from the firm's own assets. This is crucial for investor protection, particularly in the event of insolvency of the custodian.

On-chain segregation: Ideally, client assets are held in distinct, segregated wallet addresses or accounts on the blockchain that are clearly identifiable as belonging to clients, not the firm.

Legal Ownership: The legal framework must ensure that clients retain beneficial ownership of their assets.

Best Practice Expectation: While not explicitly mandated as "cold storage," GFSC's expectations regarding the safeguarding of client assets effectively necessitate the use of industry best practices. For digital assets, this means that a significant portion (and ideally the vast majority) of assets under custody should be held in "cold" (offline) storage environments to minimize exposure to online threats.

Key Management: Firms must demonstrate highly secure key generation, storage, and recovery processes, often involving multi-signature schemes and geographically distributed backups.

Capital Requirements: Instead of mandatory insurance, the GFSC imposes capital requirements designed to ensure that firms have sufficient financial resources to withstand operational shocks.

Risk Management Expectation: However, insurance and bonding are considered critical components of a robust risk management framework. The GFSC expects licensed custodians to assess their operational risks thoroughly, including those unique to digital assets (e.g., cyber theft, key loss, insider fraud), and to implement appropriate mitigation strategies.

The Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Regulations, 2017 (as amended): These Regulations provide the detailed requirements for financial services businesses (which include VASPs for AML/CFT purposes) concerning customer due diligence, record-keeping, and internal controls.

The Handbook for Financial Services Businesses on Countering Financial Crime and Terrorist Financing (the AML/CFT Handbook): Issued by the GFSC, this handbook provides detailed guidance and specific requirements for regulated entities, including a dedicated section on Virtual Assets and VASPs (typically Section 11). This is where the operational details of the Travel Rule are explained.

Risk-Based Approach (RBA): VASPs must assess the money laundering and terrorist financing risks associated with their business, customers, products, services, and geographic areas. This assessment dictates the level of CDD applied. Virtual assets and related services are generally considered to carry higher inherent risks.

Standard CDD: For all customers, VASPs must:

Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD): EDD is required in situations where there is a higher risk of ML/TF. This includes, but is not limited to:

Ongoing Monitoring: VASPs must continuously monitor customer relationships and transactions to ensure they are consistent with the VASP's knowledge of the customer, their business, and risk profile. Any significant changes in customer behaviour or circumstances must trigger a review of CDD.

Sanctions Screening: All customers and transactions must be screened against applicable sanctions lists (e.g., UN, UK, EU, Guernsey).

Obligation to Report: VASPs have a legal obligation to report any knowledge, suspicion, or reasonable grounds for suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). This includes attempts to launder money or finance terrorism.

No Tipping-Off: It is an offence to "tip-off" a customer or any third party that a suspicious transaction report has been or will be made.

Internal Reporting: VASPs must have internal procedures for employees to report suspicions to a designated Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) or Deputy MLRO. The MLRO is then responsible for evaluating the internal report and deciding whether to file an STR with the FIU.