Modern Slavery Human Trafficking (MSHT)
Definition:
Modern slavery and human trafficking are critical global issues that involve the exploitation of individuals for various forms of labor and commercial gain. This heinous practice encompasses a range of violations, including forced labor, sexual exploitation, and involuntary servitude. Victims often come from vulnerable populations, including those living in poverty, facing discrimination, or fleeing conflict.
Perpetrators utilise manipulation, coercion, and deception to control victims, stripping them of their basic rights and freedoms. Modern slavery can occur in various industries, from agriculture and construction to sex work and domestic servitude.
Efforts to combat human trafficking require a multi-faceted approach, involving law enforcement, community awareness, victim support services, and international cooperation. Raising awareness and understanding of this issue is crucial in the fight against modern slavery, as it empowers individuals and communities to recognise and report suspicious activities, ultimately working towards a world free from exploitation.
Modern Slavery Human Trafficking - So what to Jersey?
Even if MSHT does not directly occur within Jersey, Jersey could still be impacted through the following:
- Facilitating Transactions: Financial institutions in Jersey may process transactions linked to businesses or individuals involved in human trafficking or modern slavery elsewhere. This could include money laundering activities or handling funds generated from illicit activities.
- Regulatory Compliance: The financial services industry must adhere to strict regulatory frameworks to detect and prevent financial crimes, including those related to human trafficking. Failure to comply can lead to repercussions and damage to Jersey's reputation as a reputable international finance centre
- Due Diligence: Firms in the financial sector need to implement robust due diligence processes to identify and mitigate risks associated with clients connected to exploitation. This includes understanding the supply chains of companies they do business with to ensure no involvement in forced labor or trafficking.
- Public Image and Ethical Considerations: Jersey and its financial services industry must maintain a strong ethical stance against human trafficking to preserve its public image. Concerned about corporate social responsibility, and being implicated in unethical practices could deter business and damage the Island's reputation as a leading International Finance Centre (IFC).
- International Cooperation: As an IFC, Jersey's competent authorities work with international law enforcement and NGOs to combat human trafficking.
- Economic Impact: If Jersey is seen as a haven for illicit financial activity, it could have broader economic implications, potentially affecting the overall economic stability of the island if reputation and financial services industry didn't do all it could to combat human trafficking, not just through direct involvement but also by maintaining ethical standards and regulatory compliance to prevent facilitating such crimes.
Types of criminal activities linked to illicit finance
As part of the FIU's mission to assist Jersey's regulated sectors, we have created below some criminology examples which explain what they are, and more importantly, the 'So what to Jersey' connection.
Understanding the 'So what to Jersey' connection
As an International Finance Centre (IFC), the Island's products, services or industries could be used by criminals for illicit financial activity. Whilst the criminal activity may not have occurred in Jersey, the funds or derived funds from such criminality might be placed within a Jersey product or structure, or pass through the island's financial system. It is therefore important to understand the 'So what to Jersey' principle in relation to each of the criminology types below.
To help understand the various criminologies better, we have produced fictional typologies (within our knowledge base section), which provide an examples on how they work, and importantly, illustrate the 'So what to Jersey' connection.
