Gibraltar Financial Services Commission – asleep at the regulatory wheel or driving without due care?

The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) remains silent on the ongoing issue of Castle Trust and Management Services Ltd (CTMS), now in liquidation. This lack of communication suggests the GFSC is either unwilling or unable to provide meaningful direction or assistance to the victims of CTMS.

Gibraltar is supposed to be a safe haven for investors, a “go-to” destination for secure pensions and investments. However, the collapse of CTMS, which has wreaked havoc on millions of pounds worth of pensions and investments, calls this reputation into question. Where is the accountability?

Ironically, the GFSC’s homepage states:

“The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission regulates the financial services industry in Gibraltar. Our aim is to protect consumers, enhance the reputation of Gibraltar as a quality financial services centre, and promote good business. The GFSC supervises a broad range of firms including auditors, banks, company managers, e-money institutions, professional trustees, payment services providers, funds and fund service providers, insurance companies, managers and intermediaries, investment firms, and insolvency practitioners. Firms that wish to do business in or from within Gibraltar must meet our standards and criteria both at application stage and on an ongoing basis. Our supervisory work focuses primarily on the way firms are operated and governed and the identification of risks to consumers and the reputation of the jurisdiction more generally.”

How does this mission statement align with the CTMS debacle? Where was the consumer protection? How did the GFSC’s oversight of CTMS promote good business or enhance Gibraltar’s reputation as a quality financial services centre?

These questions raise further concerns: What does it mean to be a regulated company in Gibraltar? What kind of regulation does the GFSC actually perform? Where is the audit trail, if there is one? Did no one at the GFSC notice the number of complaints about CTMS?

In the aftermath of the CTMS liquidation, the GFSC’s silence is deafening. Are they scrambling to cover up their failures. Or were they simply negligent, ignoring the complaints of those whose pensions and investments were wiped out? At what point will the GFSC step in and conduct a thorough investigation, or do they just not care?

Gibraltar relies heavily on foreign investment and cannot afford the negative publicity generated by the CTMS case. Transparency and proactive investigation would be far better approaches. Unfortunately, the current situation suggests a widescale cover-up.

We are pursuing a Freedom of Information request. Though the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority has made the process unnecessarily complicated, referring us to a complicated flow chart. Despite these obstacles, Insolvency & Law remains committed to seeking justice. Get in touch with us now at [email protected].