Editor’s Note
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority has intensified its AML/CFT oversight, conducting 28% more onsite inspections in 2024. The latest report indicates rising compliance rates within the jurisdiction.
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority has just published the AML/CFT Activity Report 2024, which details the authority’s efforts to prevent anti-money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism.
The report shows increased anti-money laundering inspections in 2024, with data suggesting increasing rates of compliance in the jurisdiction.
The regulator carried out 83 onsite inspections in 2024, a 28% increase from the 65 inspections in 2023. There was also an increase in follow-up inspections, with 15 in 2024, up from five in 2023.
But despite the increased inspections from the monetary authority, the results suggest that regulated firms in the jurisdiction were more compliant in 2024 than in 2023.
The CIMA inspections resulted in 367 requirements being issued where deficiencies were found, less than the 454 total requirements issued in 2023. There were also fewer ‘Matters Requiring Immediate Attention’, with just 324 in 2024 compared to 446 in 2023. As a result, the share of inspected firms with sanctions and deficiencies fell to 49% from 65%.
Enforcement of anti-money laundering rules is one key metric that the Financial Action Task Force uses to evaluate jurisdictions. One reason Cayman was previously placed on the Financial Action Task Force ‘grey list’ was the perceived lack of investigations and prosecutions.
The monetary authority carried out 21 enforcement actions in 2024, including four in relation to anti-money laundering. During the year, the authority revoked one full securities licence and made a winding-up application for the same licensee. It also investigated two licensees and one registrant for breaches of anti-money laundering regulations.