KPMG in the Cayman Islands and the Financial Crime Investigation Unit (FCIU) of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) held a two day forum for stakeholders on the current financial crime landscape in the Cayman Islands on May 21^st and 22^nd, 2019. KPMG and the FCIU were joined by representatives from the City of London Police, who shared their insight and experience on financial crime with the attending delegates.

Hosted by KPMG and the FCIU, the topics covered across the two day event included an overview of today’s financial crime environment, models for effective collaboration and an action plan for implementing a cohesive, confident approach to managing financial crime in the Cayman Islands.

Featured speakers included Head of Learning and Skills, Mike Betts and Economic Crime Trainer, DC Gareth Jenkins from the City of London Police and DCI Richard Barrow from the FCIU. DCI Barrow provided insight into his participation with the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) review and the feedback provided on the National Risk Assessment and the Cayman Islands Mutual Evaluation Report 2019.

The City of London Police walked delegates through Operation Shaniko, a recent case study where an organized crime gang in London were jailed for a total of 23 years for a £1.5 million money laundering fraud. This particular case study demonstrated a cohesive industry where private and public sector organizations worked together to tackle financial crime, something which the Cayman Islands is looking to further develop in the future. Iain Kenny, Director in Advisory Services at KPMG, led an informative breakout session, guiding the group through challenges facing the FCIU and the Cayman Islands’ financial industry when it comes to reporting.

Many of the delegates were local Anti-Money Laundering Reporting Officers (AMLROs) and Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs) and they engaged in lively discussions around the key financial threats for the region and areas for improvements around managing financial intelligence.

“I am delighted and encouraged by the input and engagement of the participants towards promoting public and private partnerships that will greatly enhance proactivity towards disrupting malign players from using Cayman entities” said DCI Barrow.

“KPMG was delighted to host the two Financial Crime Stakeholder Forums at our offices alongside the FCIU”, said Brid Verling, Senior Manager in Advisory Services at KPMG. “The experience and direction from the City of London Police was extremely insightful, with a detailed case study showcasing best practice when it comes to combatting financial crime. The response from delegates was extremely positive and we are all looking forward to building on and enhancing our current approach to managing financial crime in Cayman and overseas in the future.”

As a result of the forum and other meetings held during their time in Grand Cayman, The City of London Police will be producing a report to the Governor with recommendations for enhancements and additional suggestions to be considered by the FCIU. Some of the recommendations have come directly from the discussions with delegates at the forums on the issues they currently face with financial crime investigations in the Cayman Islands.