The Isle of Man Financial Services Authority has imposed a civil penalty on tax adviser Y&A Group after an inspection that identified a number of contraventions in relation to the island's Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Code 2019. 

The regulator said in a notice on 21 September that "the making of such public statement supports the Authority's regulatory objectives of, among other things, securing an appropriate degree of protection for customers of persons carrying on a regulated activity, reducing financial crime and maintaining confidence in the Isle of Man's financial services industry".

According to its website, Y & A Group, LP is a specialist yachting and aviation taxation firm based in the Isle of Man but with global reach.

The isle of Man FSA said that "following an inspection of Y & A by the Authority under section 14 of the Act, which identified a number of contraventions by Y & A in relation to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Code 2019, the Authority has deemed it appropriate, necessary and proportionate, in all the circumstances, that Y & A be required to pay a civil penalty imposed under the Regulations.

"The regulations allow for penalties to be imposed at two levels depending on the seriousness of the contraventions of the Code identified. Penalties imposed equate to a percentage of the relevant person's income (as such terms are defined in the Regulations). In this instance, the Authority has deemed that the contraventions of the Code identified, in all of the circumstances, merit that a civil penalty be imposed in the higher, Level 2, penalty bracket.

The civil penalty imposed on Y & A was £40,901,  discounted by 30% to £28,631.

The level of the civil penalty reflected the fact that Y & A co-operated with the Authority and agreed settlement at an early stage, through the employment of the Authority's Enforcement Decision-Making Process, it said. 

 Y & A at all material times has been registered with the Authority as a tax advisor under the Designated Business (Registrations and Oversight) Act 2015.

Y & A's 2020 annual return, submitted to the Authority under the Act, indicated, in respect of their designated business activities, a high proportion of foreign politically exposed persons. In light of the foregoing, Y & A was selected to be part of FPEP thematic project undertaken by the AML/CFT Division of the Authority.

The  Inspection was conducted in April 2022 and this identified a significant number of contraventions of the Code by Y & A across its FPEP client base.

The regulator further said Y & A had engaged positively with it throughout the matter in a timely and constructive manner.