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Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs)
The powers that enable the Authority to co-
operate with other regulatory organisations both
domestically and internationally, are supported
by a number of bilateral MOUs with regulatory
authorities world-wide. Over the period of this
report, many MOUs that were originally those of
the IPA or FSC have been updated and converted
to Authority MOUs. Those that are still pending
updates continue to operate for the Authority as a
whole, and will be updated in due course.
MOUs assist the two way flow of information
between supervisory authorities. They provide a
framework which sets out the basis on which the
Authority can be confident that the information
it exchanges with other supervisors is treated as
confidential, together with the circumstances in
which that information may be shared further if it is
appropriate to do so.
IAIS and IOSCO Multilateral Memoranda of
Understanding (MMOUs)
The Authority is full signatory to both the IAIS
MMOU and the IOSCO MMOU. It is also a full
signatory to the GIFCS MMOU, many of whose
members are also full signatories to the IAIS and
IOSCO MMOUs.
Ass i s tance wi th I nves t i gat ions
and I ns ider Dea l i ng
The Island has in place important provisions that
enable it to co-operate in cross-border enquiries
and investigations. Whilst mutual legal assistance
in criminal matters is the preserve of the Island’s
Attorney General’s Chambers, the Authority is able
to use its powers of inspection and investigation
in regulatory investigations in order to obtain
information on the Island for overseas regulators
who are signatories to the IOSCO MMOU. During
the period of this report, four requests were
received from three different countries. The
Authority also made a request for assistance to
another jurisdiction under the IOSCO MMOU in
relation to one of its own enquiries.
On occasion, the Authority becomes aware of
instances where overseas persons falsely claim to
have a presence on the Island in order to mislead
the public. When these instances come to light they
are investigated by enforcement staff to determine
whether any criminal or regulatory proceedings
are required. In most cases the Authority is able
to establish that there is no genuine Isle of Man
connection. In these circumstances the action
that can be taken to prevent such false claims is
limited, but the Authority does have power under
the FSA08 to issue a public warning and publish
relevant information in order to protect the public.
During the year, a total of four such cases were
investigated, all of which resulted in the issue of
public warnings on the Authority’s website.
Although the Island does not have a stock
exchange, there may be occasions when a
person or business on the Island is suspected of
involvement in insider dealing. Under the Insider
Dealing Act 1998, the Authority may appoint
inspectors to investigate such cases. No such
investigations took place over the last year.
20 • Isle of Man Financial Services Authority Annual Report 2016/17