Grand Cayman, 19 November 2024 – Bills to implement Government’s revenue-raising measures, and a Bill to implement phase 2 of the regulatory framework for virtual asset services in the Cayman Islands, were published on Friday, 15 November 2024 in the Cayman Islands Legislation Gazette.<https://www.gov.ky/publications/all-publications>

The Bills were developed following a comprehensive review of fee structures by the Ministry of Financial Services and Commerce, General Registry, and the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), which found that some fees had not been adjusted in five to 10 years, or more. Industry’s feedback also was sought on the regulatory revenue proposals.

Certain Bills introduce fees, while others validate and raise fees previously charged by CIMA and General Registry:

*         Companies (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024;

*         Exempted Limited Partnership (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024

*         Limited Liability Companies (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024;

*         Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024;

*         Partnership (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024;

*         Building Societies (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024;

*         Monetary Authority (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024;56

*         Insurance (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024;

*         Companies Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024;

*         Securities Investment Business (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024;

*         Mutual Funds (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024;

*         Private Funds (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024; and

*         Banks and Trust Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2024

The Virtual Asset (Service Providers) (Amendment) Bill, 2024, is to provide the regulatory basis for phase 2 of the Cayman Islands’ virtual asset service providers (VASPs) regime, which relates to the Introduction of a licencing regime for trading platforms and virtual asset custodians.

These licensing regimes will give CIMA greater powers for supervising these activities, and provide greater clarity for industry operating in the jurisdiction.