Financial crime

We advise on the application of local laws in contentious and non-contentious matters, from transactions to investigations, third party engagement, M&A deals and day-to-day operations.

We have in-depth knowledge of worldwide anti-corruption instruments such as the UN Convention Against Corruption and the OECD Anti-bribery Convention, key benchmarking legalisation such as the UK Bribery Act and the US FCPA as well as key legislation in our jurisdictions. 

We provide pragmatic, commercial advice to businesses and Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs) on creating and reviewing AML and CTF compliance systems, including Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and Know Your Customer (KYC) checks. We also advise on whether, when and how to submit a suspicious activity report, when to report to the regulators and how to maximise the chances of obtaining the necessary consents for a particular transaction. We also advise clients being investigated for criminal breaches of the regulatory regimes.

In all our legal jurisdictions there are laws regulating the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing, following on from the far reaching EU regulations and extending beyond our financial services clients to capture all our clients globally.

Businesses need to understand local regimes as well as all those that may apply to their operations and transactions in order to operate effective compliance systems so as to minimise risk to the business and staff. Systems and controls include CDD and KYC checks, pre-payment approvals and the appointment of an MLRO.

Ogier has one of the largest Competition Law teams. We assist clients with internal investigations and regulatory defence, as well as proactively managing the risk within their compliance programs and business operations. 

Our experts can help clients understand the differences between the jurisdictional thresholds for notifiable transactions. We help clients investigate and manage antitrust investigations, including cartel and abuse of dominance investigations, and antitrust litigation.

Competition Law in Jersey and Guernsey is subject to each's own legislation and regulator. Each authority regulates the three main pillars of competition law - anti-competitive agreements, abuses of a dominant position and mergers and acquisitions. Of these, it is the third pillar that gives rise to most concerns for our clients due to the increase in mergers and acquisitions we are seeing with a Jersey and / or Guernsey nexus.

Find out more on our Competition Law page.

Human rights risk management is a key element of responsible business practice, for small and large businesses no matter where they are located. Increasing levels of regulation at EU and national levels bring with them higher levels of scrutiny and penalties for failure to address the risks.

We work closely with clients to navigate the legal and "soft" law standards that apply, taking an integrated, cross-practice approach to what are often cross-jurisdictional challenges.

Guiding you through your international regulatory enforcement and white collar challenges, our experts have the requisite skill and experience to help you manage significant legal, commercial and reputational risks that can arise from both internal whistleblowing and externally catalysts such as suppliers, regulators and the police.

Learn more on our dedicated Investigations page.

We work closely with the compliance teams of our clients to help them navigate the complex legal challenges encountered in this area.

We offer specialist advice, in particular on the impact of global sanctions on international trade, shipping, insurance and transportation. We are widely recognised as a market leader in this area.

We have a strong track record in providing valuable advice on both unilateral and multilateral sanctions issues. This is further compounded by our vast experience in new and emerging markets where we leverage our expertise in assessing the impact of economic and trade sanctions on businesses.

International trade and economic sanctions regimes continue to evolve against the backdrop of a turbulent global landscape. Both national and international clients are impacted by one or more financial sanctions regimes and having to respond rapidly to change. The scope and complexity of sanctions regulations has been increasing steadily.

For many businesses sanctions are on their risk registers, with prudent organisations taking steps to identify which sanctions regimes apply to their existing businesses and impact their future planning, putting in place controls and actively manage the risks.

At Ogier we combine an in-depth understanding of our clients' businesses with expertise in crisis management and regulatory actions. We work with world-leading experts to assist our clients in times of crisis.

Learn more about our Business Crisis Management expertise and Dispute Resolution services.