In July 2024, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published its “Quarterly Consultation Paper No. 44” (“Consultation”), which proposed introducing a requirement to provide criminal background checks on owners and...more
Ether ETFs Begin Public Trading, Generate $1.07B in Cumulative Volume - According to reports, on July 23, nine different spot ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from eight different issuers began public trading on...more
FATF’s latest Targeted Update Report on Implementation of the FATF Standards on VAs and VASPs stresses that many jurisdictions continue to struggle with the fundamentals of virtual asset regulation, including undertaking risk...more
Welcome to the first instalment of 2024 of our Cayman Islands Regulatory & Risk Advisory Review. As we cover in this issue, there have been a number of updates in the first quarter of the year. Perhaps most notably is the...more
There were some key publications this week in relation to financial crime, including a Commission request for the EBA to advise on standards and guidelines under the future AML/CFT framework in Europe and, in the UK, an HMT...more
Editor's Note: The following newsletter provides a roundup summarizing enforcement actions, guidance, rulemakings, and other public statements taken by a federal and/or state financial services regulatory agency, specifically...more
El 02/23/24, el Grupo de Acción Financiera Internacional (GAFI o “FATF”), una entidad intergubernamental independiente que desarrolla políticas para la protección de nuestro sistema financiero global contra el lavado de...more
On 2/23/24, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an independent inter-governmental entity that develops policies for protection of our global financial system from money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of...more
El 15 de febrero de 2024, FinCEN publicó un Aviso de Reglamentación Propuesta (NPRM) que requeriría que ciertos asesores de inversiones (Investment Advisers) apliquen requisitos de ALD/FT conforme con la Ley de Secreto...more
On 2/15/24, FinCEN published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would require certain investment advisers to apply AML/CFT requirements pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act, including implementing risk-based AML/CFT...more
2023 was an active year for the Cayman Islands regulatory industry. While we have endeavoured to keep you updated throughout the year with our Regulatory & Risk Advisory Reviews, our team has highlighted below the key changes...more
Associating the Cayman Islands with money laundering has been a staple of film and television, from "The Firm" in the 1990s to, more recently, "Better Call Saul." However, scriptwriters may need to find another location...more
Today we are very pleased to welcome, once again, guest blogger Dr. Kateryna Boguslavska of the Basel Institute on Governance (“Basel Institute”), who will discuss the Basel Institute’s release of the 12th annual Public...more
As the EU removes the Cayman Islands from the EU AML/CFT blacklist with effect from 7 February 2024, concerns and barriers for EU sell- and buy-side parties on securitisations involving Cayman SSPEs fall away....more
The Cayman Islands recently received an early Holiday gift when the EU Commission published a regulation in mid-December paving the way to remove Cayman from its list of ‘high-risk’ countries for AML/CFT purposes. The...more
Following the 2021 report, the South African Parliament adopted legislative changes in the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act, 2022 (the GLA Act) to give effect to the...more
After years of waiting and multiple drafts, the final version of the EU Regulatory Technical Standards on risk retention was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 18 October 2023. In addition, we have...more
Oct 2023 This decision was announced on 27 October at the closing of the FATF’s plenary meetings in Paris, France. The FATF announcement confirmed that the Cayman Islands maintains a robust and effective anti-money...more
To strengthen the anti-money laundering (AML) controls in Singapore, and in line with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and comments garnered from a public consultation, a series of measures have...more
The Financial Action Task Force last Friday announced that it was removing the Cayman Islands from its ‘Grey List’ for increased monitoring in AML matters. This listing has had no direct impact on the fund finance world...more
The Financial Action Task Force ("FATF") is the global standard-setter on anti-money laundering ("AML"), countering terrorist financing ("CFT") and counter proliferation financing. FATF's standards, also referred to as...more
Following the conclusion of the most recent plenary of the Financial Action Task Force ("FATF") on 27 October 2023, the FATF has announced that the Cayman Islands has been removed from the FATF's list of "jurisdictions under...more
Approaches and developments - The Cayman Islands has long been a leading offshore jurisdiction for investment funds, as well as a significant global financial centre overall. It is therefore not surprising that, reflecting...more
SWIFT Publishes Blockchain Pilot Findings; Firms Announce USDC Integrations - According to a recent press release, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) recently published a report with...more
The Government, further to consultation with the Jersey Financial Services Commission ("JFSC"), has recently published an Order clarifying the scope of the Proceeds of Crime (Duties of Non-Professional Trustees) (Jersey)...more