From the Attorney General’s Office

The Cayman Islands’ technical compliance with the 40 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations relating to anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing (AML/CFT) was upgraded in February 2021 and in October 2021.

            Further work to enhance compliance with international standards in anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing has also seen the country added to two important international instruments on corruption and the financing of terrorism, the Attorney General and Chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Steering Group, Hon. Samuel Bulgin Q.C. noted.

“Government requested that the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) revisit the ratings that we received in their last report in 2019, to reflect the many actions we have undertaken since they last assessed our framework”, Mr Bulgin explains.

He adds: “We are very pleased to be rated compliant or largely compliant with all forty of the FATF Recommendations. While we still remain under monitoring with regards to three out of the 63 areas for improvement recommended by the 2019 report (one has thus far been satisfactorily addressed, although work is ongoing), these have to do with effectiveness and are assessed separately”.  

This means the Cayman Islands is at the forefront out of all jurisdictions assessed so far on technical compliance with the FATF 40 Recommendations. 

The Attorney General noted that as part of the recent upgrades to its technical compliance framework, the Cayman Islands recently had two key international instruments extended to it.

In December 2020, the United Nations Convention against Corruption was extended to the jurisdiction. The Convention relates to the criminalisation of corruption, implementation of measures to prevent corruption, and international cooperation in matters relating to corruption.

Meanwhile in August 2021 the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism was extended to the Cayman Islands. This Convention requires signatories to criminalise the financing of terrorism, as well as to take measures to identify, detect and freeze assets related to terrorism, and to prosecute terrorism financing offences.

Mr. Bulgin comments that the extension of these conventions to the Cayman Islands further demonstrates that the jurisdiction has the appropriate legislation, structure and organisations in place to meet its international obligations with regards to AML/CFT.