We have many, many accountants here in the Cayman Islands but apparently no forensic accountants. Well, if there are, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) won’t employ them.

In a story that appeared Friday (31) in the Cayman Compass and was also carried by Offshore Bankers the CIMA are bringing in an “international accounting firm” to assist them with a “forensic review of any local bank transactions connected to the U.S.-based indictments of FIFA officials, including any transactions linked to Cayman’s Jeffrey Webb and former Cayman resident Costas Takkas.”

The new chairman of the CIMA, Grant Stein, reportedly made the announcement last Wednesday (29).

Stein says he is “keen to ensure that allegations of conflicts in relation to the FIFA investigation stay well away from Cayman’s financial services industry regulator.”

That is very difficult when all of Cayman’s media have reported exactly as the Compass story:

“CIMA Managing Director Cindy Scotland’s husband, former government minister Mark Scotland, has worked since last year for the Cayman Islands Football Association under its president, Webb, and was in Switzerland with Webb at the time of Webb’s arrest on May 27. In addition, former government minister Cline Glidden’s wife Gloria serves as deputy head of CIMA’s banking division. Mr. Glidden was also in Switzerland with Webb for FIFA’s annual meeting prior to the arrests and was working for CONCACAF on the creation of a regional football dispute resolution court.”

Never-the-less Stein is quoted, ‘“Anybody that has any connections to anyone in the [U.S. investigation] … has been recused,” Mr. Stein said. “I think that CIMA … has and will play an important role in the reputation of the Cayman Islands as an international financial center. As the new chair, I can assure everyone we will be working very closely with these investigations.”’

Most of the local media houses called for Gloria Glidden and especially Cindy Scotland to be put on leave whilst the CIMA’s three person internal committee carried out an investigation but that was rejected.

It is puzzling to me, therefore, that two months has passed and nothing has been reported regarding the local Fidelity Bank’s transactions that have been named in connection with the U.S. federal court indictments of Webb and Takkas. It would seem logical to suggest that in fact this internal committee hasn’t even commenced their work. Perhaps they have been waiting for these outside forensic accountants?

So it is OK for three members of the CIMA, Charles Ilako, R.J. Berry and Andre Mon Desir to be on this Committee but not OK to use local forensic accountants?

Presumably these outside accountants will be issued with a local companies control law licence or a Trade and Business Licence?

With an almost entire new board that we are told has nothing to do with the Webb turmoil Stein is hoping that bringing in THREE outside accountants will make everything look lily white.

It won’t. It is just mystifying.

We have many, many accountants here in the Cayman Islands but apparently no forensic accountants. Well if there are the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) won’t employ them.

Why?

From Wikipedia:

“Forensic accounting, forensic accountancy or financial forensics is the specialty practice area of accounting that describes engagements that result from actual or anticipated disputes or litigation. “Forensic” means “suitable for use in a court of law”, and it is to that standard and potential outcome that forensic accountants generally have to work. Forensic accountants, also referred to as forensic auditors or investigative auditors, often have to give expert evidence at the eventual trial. All of the larger accounting firms, as well as many medium-sized and boutique firms and various Police and Government agencies have specialist forensic accounting departments. Within these groups, there may be further sub-specializations: some forensic accountants may, for example, just specialize in insurance claims, personal injury claims, fraud, Anti-Money Laundering, construction, or royalty audits.”

To read the whole Cayman Compass story go to: http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2015/07/31/Forensic-accountants-to-review-FIFA-bank-transactions/