Regulatory Blog

On 9 November 2023, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority published a supervisory information circular, advising that it recently updated its guidance notes on the prevention and detection of money laundering and terrorist financing to incorporate e-KYC and remote CCD/ongoing monitoring provisions. The amendments, effective from August 2023, address queries from financial service providers seeking clarification on the compatibility of CIMA's anti-money laundering/counter financing of terrorism/counter proliferation financing supervisory framework with technological solutions for remote, virtual, or non-face-to-face onboarding and ongoing customer due diligence.

For some years there has been significant focus on whether the Cayman Islands would push through the implementation of a public beneficial ownership register which makes it possible for anyone to find out who is the ultimate beneficial owner of a relevant Cayman entity.

On 1 September 2023, the Cyprus Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property issued a notice bringing attention to the mandatory requirement for companies that have been incorporated or registered according to Companies Law Cap. 113, the European public limited liability companies (SE) and the Partnerships as well as their officers/partners, to promptly submit the details and information of their beneficial owners to the Register of Beneficial Owners of Corporate and Other Legal Entities.

Virtual asset service providers (VASP) that conducted virtual asset (VA) styled business prior to the coming into force of the BVI’s Virtual Asset Service Provider Act 2022 (the VASPA) on 1 February 2023 were given a six-month window in which to prepare and submit an application for registration to the BVI Financial Services Commission (the FSC). The six-month window expired on 31 July 2023.

On 13 July 2023, the European Banking Authority (EBA) released its fourth Opinion on the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) in the European Union's financial sector. The Opinion highlights the evolving risk landscape and suggests measures that can be taken by competent authorities and EU co-legislators to mitigate these risks.

On 23 June 2023, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission announced the release of the Annual Report for 2022 by the Unit for Combating Money Laundering (MOKAS). The report provides a comprehensive analysis of Suspicious Activity Reports, Suspicious Transaction Reports, and the Additional Information File AIF-S or AIF-T.

Following their diligent efforts to address deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regimes, the Cayman Islands is now eligible to be removed from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) monitoring list, subject to successful completion of an onsite visit by the FATF. This positive development was announced by the FATF after its plenary session on 23 June 2023.

This blog post serves as a timely reminder that the transitional period under the Virtual Assets Service Providers Act 2022 will come to an end on 31 July 2023. This leaves just one month for businesses engaging in virtual asset service providers activities to take action.

On 9 June 2023, the BVI Financial Services Commission and BVI Financial Investigation Agency published the Virgin Islands Money Laundering Risk Assessment 2022. This assessment builds upon previous evaluations and demonstrates the BVI’s commitment to identifying, assessing, and mitigating money laundering risks in accordance with the Financial Action Task Force's requirements.