The Isle of Man Government has today published its first standalone National Risk Assessment (NRA) into the potential terrorist financing (TF) risks faced by the Island’s Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) sector.
The assessment reinforces the Island’s commitment to protecting NPOs and safeguarding the integrity of the sector, while recognising the extremely positive contribution NPOs make to communities both locally and internationally.
The Isle of Man is renowned for its generosity, with significant sums being raised and distributed every year to local and international good causes. The NRA recognises the vital role of NPOs while acknowledging that those operating internationally may be vulnerable to exploitation by terrorist organisations seeking to raise and transfer funds, often to high‑risk jurisdictions, under the guise of legitimate charitable activity.
Additional measures are identified in the risk assessment to help protect the highly valued work of volunteers and trustees, including proposed legislative improvements that are currently the subject of a public consultation. The intention is to implement simpler, proportionate and risk-based requirements for the small number of impacted organisations, with enhanced support, training and guidance provided by government agencies.
The NRA highlights that the vast majority of the sector operates exclusively within our Island and therefore presents the lowest risk of terrorist financing. It also confirms that there have been no cases of terrorist financing involving Isle of Man NPOs, however as an international financial centre with a small global NPO footprint, the Island must remain vigilant to the ways in which charitable structures can be misused by terrorist groups. The action being taken will strengthen the sector’s ability to operate safely and with confidence to continue benefitting good causes on-Island and overseas.
The Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Jane Poole-Wilson MHK, said:
'The Isle of Man is a generous and community-focused jurisdiction, and our NPOs exemplify the best of who we are. This work is about protecting our NPOs – and the volunteers and trustees who give their time to support others – from being abused by those who would exploit goodwill for harmful purposes.'
With this work, the Isle of Man emphasises that the protection of the sector remains a priority. The recommended actions from the NRA aim to ensure that NPOs working internationally receive a comprehensive and ongoing package of support, including access to free training, dedicated webpages, guidance, FAQs and template documents.
The consultation on the legislative changes remains open until Monday 2 March 2026, and the Government encourages relevant stakeholders – including charities, trustees and NPO volunteers – to submit feedback through the Consultation Hub.
