Financial Crime World

Cayman Islands Boosts Efforts Against Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation Financing

Strengthening Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing, and Proliferation Financing Regime

The Cayman Islands has made significant progress in strengthening its anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CFT), and proliferation financing (PF) regime, according to a recent report. The government’s efforts have focused on targeted risk assessments at the national and sectoral levels, extending supervisory coverage to previously unregulated industries such as lawyers, accountants, and real estate agents.

Key Achievements

  • Implementation of a risk-based approach to AML/CFT/CFP supervision for all regulated entities within the regime
  • Establishment of the Cayman Islands Bureau for Financial Investigations (CIBFI) to investigate crimes in the international financial sector
  • Enhancement in financial intelligence
  • Significant increase in proactive requests and spontaneous disclosures made to overseas financial intelligence units
  • Confiscation of assets valued at over US$10 million between 2018 and 2020, and conduct of nine asset restraints in 2019 worth over US$520 million

Challenges and Future Plans

Despite these accomplishments, challenges remain, including human and technological resource gaps across agencies with critical AML/CFT/CFP mandates. The National Risk Assessment (NRA) concluded in December 2021, and collective efforts have since focused on outreach and the design of targeted risk mitigation and management measures to address identified risks.

Strategic Themes and Objectives

The government has identified three strategic themes:

  • Objective: To secure a modern risk-based legislative framework that is consistent with international standards established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and effective in preventing, detecting, and responding to money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing risks.

Strengthening Domestic Cooperation and Coordination

  • Objective: To enhance domestic cooperation and coordination among agencies to effectively address AML/CFT/CFP threats.

Up-scaling Technological and Human Resourcing

  • Objective: To improve the capacity of agencies to investigate and prosecute financial crimes, as well as conduct effective supervision and monitoring.

The government has committed to addressing these challenges and strengthening its defenses against money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.