GFSC -Further Fines and Prohibitions on Former Weighbridge Trust Directors

St Peter Port, Guernsey – 19 May 2026 –

• The Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) has continued its robust regulatory actions against individuals linked to historical compliance failures at Weighbridge Trust Limited, issuing public statements detailing financial penalties, prohibitions, and disapplication of fiduciary exemptions for multiple former directors.
• The latest announcements target former executives at the long-established Guernsey fiduciary licensee, underscoring the Commission’s commitment to addressing serious, systemic shortcomings in anti-money laundering (AML), financial crime risk management, record-keeping, and fiduciary duties that predominantly occurred pre-2018.

According to the official GFSC public statement the following have been fined:

• For Mr Paul Conway (Executive Director and MLRO, January 2002–April 2015) and
• Mrs Linda Dowding (Executive Director, June 2006–June 2016), the GFSC imposed the following:
• Mr William Stephen Cairns was an Executive Director of Weighbridge Trust Limited between 1978 and October 2017, and a shareholder controller of the Licensee from 1978 to May 2020.
• Mr Du Preez Gert Vermeulen was an Executive Director between July 2014 and March 2018.

These actions form part of the GFSC’s continued focus on upholding standards in the fiduciary sector. The failings relate to pre-remediation operations and do not reflect the current Weighbridge Trust Limited.

Penalties for Conway and Dowding

For Mr Paul Conway (Executive Director and MLRO, January 2002–April 2015) and Mrs Linda Dowding (Executive Director, June 2006–June 2016), the GFSC imposed the following:

• Mr Conway: £30,000 financial penalty (decision dated 4 August 2023), three-year prohibition from any function, and three-year disapplication of the fiduciary exemption under the 2020 Fiduciaries Law.
• Mrs Dowding: £40,000 financial penalty (decision dated 26 September 2023), three-year prohibition from any function, three-year disapplication of the exemption, and a public statement.

The Commission found failures to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and minimum licensing criteria, including inadequate monitoring of high-risk trusts, misleading client agreements, poor due diligence on significant investments, and weaknesses in record-keeping and AML procedures despite prior Risk Mitigation Programmes.

Separate but Related Actions Against Cairns and Vermeulen

In a parallel public statement, the GFSC detailed decisions (dated 2 February 2023) against Mr William Stephen Cairns (long-serving Executive Director and shareholder controller) and Mr Du Preez Gert Vermeulen (Executive Director, July 2014–March 2018):

• Mr Cairns: £133,000 penalty, 10 years and 6 months prohibition from key roles (including director, MLRO, and compliance officer), and matching disapplication of the fiduciary exemption.
• Mr Vermeulen: £35,000 penalty, 2 years and 1 month prohibition from acting as a director, and matching disapplication.

The findings mirror those above: serious failures in financial crime risk management, integrity, fiduciary duties, transaction monitoring, and record-keeping. These had the potential to damage Guernsey’s reputation as an international finance centre. Penalties used pre-13 November 2017 levels.

The current board and controllers of Weighbridge Trust Limited have undertaken extensive remediation. All licence conditions and Risk Mitigation Programmes have been lifted, with no penalty imposed on the licensee itself.

Sources  

• Weighbridge Trust Limited, Mr Paul Conway, Mrs Linda Dowding (published 14 May 2026): https://www.gfsc.gg/news/weighbridge-trust-limited-mr-paul-conway-mrs-linda-dowding
• Mr William Stephen Cairns and Mr Du Preez Gert Vermeulen (published 14 May 2026): https://www.gfsc.gg/news/mr-william-stephen-cairns-and-mr-du-preez-gert-vermeulen
• GFSC News Archive 2026: https://www.gfsc.gg/news/archive/2026
• GFSC Enforcement Page: https://www.gfsc.gg/news/enforcement

End

Weighbridge Trust Limited (“the Licensee”) Mr Paul Conway (“Mr Conway”)

Mrs Linda Dowding (“Mrs Dowding”)

Mr Conway - £30,000

Mrs Dowding - £40,000

On 4 August 2023, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (“the Commission”) decided:

1. To impose a financial penalty of £30,000 on Mr Conway under section 39 of the Enforcement Powers Law;
2. To make an order under section 33 of the Enforcement Powers Law prohibiting Mr Conway from any function for a period of three years; and
3. To issue a Notice under section 32 of the Enforcement Powers Law disapplying the exemption set out in section 3(1)(g) of the 2020 Fiduciaries Law in respect of Mr Conway for a period of three years.

On 26 September 2023, the Commission decided:

1. To impose a financial penalty of £40,000 on Mrs Dowding under section 39 of the Enforcement Powers Law;
2. To make an order under section 33 of the Enforcement Powers Law prohibiting Mrs Dowding from any function for a period of three years;
3. To issue a Notice under section 32 of the Enforcement Powers Law disapplying the exemption set out in section 3(1)(g) of the 2020 Fiduciaries Law in respect of Mrs Dowding for a period of three years; and
4. To make this public statement under section 38 of the Enforcement Powers Law.

https://www.gfsc.gg/news/weighbridge-trust-limited-mr-paul-conway-mrs-linda-dowding

On 14^th may the GFSC announce that on On 2 February 2023, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (“the Commission”) decided:

1. To impose a financial penalty of £133,000 on Mr Cairns under section 39 of the Enforcement Powers Law;
2. To impose a financial penalty of £35,000 on Mr Vermeulen under section 39 of the Enforcement Powers Law;
3. To make an order under section 33 of the Enforcement Powers Law prohibiting Mr Cairns from holding the position of controller, shareholder, director, manager, money laundering reporting officer and money laundering compliance officer of a licensee for a period of ten years and six months;
4. To issue a Notice under section 32 of the Enforcement Powers Law disapplying the exemption set out in section 3(1)(g) of the 2020 Fiduciaries Law in respect of Mr Cairns for a period of ten years and six months;
5. To make an order under section 33 of the Enforcement Powers Law prohibiting Mr Vermeulen from acting as a director for a period of two years and one month;
6. To issue a Notice under section 32 of the Enforcement Powers Law disapplying the exemption set out in section 3(1)(g) of the 2020 Fiduciaries Law in respect of Mr Vermeulen for a period of two years and one month; and
7. To make this public statement under section 38 of the Enforcement Powers Law.

The Commission considered it reasonable and necessary to make these decisions having concluded that the Former Directors had failed to ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements, and the minimum criteria set out in Schedule 1 of the Fiduciaries Law.

The findings in this case were serious, spanned a significant period of time (predominantly pre-2018) and had the potential to jeopardise the reputation of the Bailiwick as an international finance centre.

Discretionary financial penalties were applied in this case using the levels of penalties in force pre 13 November 2017.

https://www.gfsc.gg/news/mr-william-stephen-cairns-and-mr-du-preez-gert-vermeulen