Cayman Islands Strengthens Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Efforts

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The Cayman Islands has made significant strides in improving its national and sectoral understanding of money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing risks through targeted risk assessments. The jurisdiction has also extended its anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime to cover additional sectors, including:

• Lawyers
• Accountants
• Real estate agents
• Developers

Enhanced Supervision and Cooperation

The Cayman Islands has implemented a risk-based approach to AML/CFT supervision for all regulated entities within the regime. The jurisdiction has also strengthened its framework for domestic cooperation and coordination by adding the Anti-Corruption Commission as a member of both:

• AML Steering Group (AMLSG)
• Inter-Agency Coordination Committee (IACC)

Investment in Technology and Human Resources

The Cayman Islands has invested in technological and human resources to enhance AML/CFT supervision. This includes:

• The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) receiving an increase in proactive requests and spontaneous disclosures made to overseas FIUs
• The establishment of the Cayman Islands Bureau for Financial Investigations (CIBFI) within the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) to investigate crimes within the international financial sector

Key Accomplishments

The jurisdiction has seen:

• A successful confiscation of assets valued at over US$10 million
• Conducted 9 asset restraints valued at over US$520 million between 2018 and 2020

Challenges and Future Plans

Despite these accomplishments, there are still human and technological resource challenges across agencies with critical AML/CFT mandates. To address these risks, a new strategy has been formulated to safeguard the Cayman Islands’ financial and economic systems against the abuse of criminal actors.

The strategy focuses on five key themes:

Enhancing the Jurisdiction’s AML/CFT Legal and Regulatory Framework

Strengthening Supervision and Enforcement

Improving International Cooperation and Coordination

Enhancing Financial Intelligence

Upscaling Technological and Human Resources

Work has already commenced on some of these initiatives, particularly those that need to be accomplished within 2022. The Cayman Islands is committed to continuing its efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing risks.

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