Ebanks tackles beneficial ownership during trip to Asia

(CNS): Financial Services Minister André Ebanks led a Cayman Islands delegation to Singapore last month to open the Cayman Islands Government’s new Asia Office. While there, he held a series of meetings, including with the European Commission and Financial Action Task Force for talks on beneficial ownership.

Ebanks joined a panel discussion, which he characterised as “interactive, insightful and constructive”, where the panellists spoke about their experiences in establishing central beneficial ownership registries and the different approaches to ensure that adequate, accurate and up-to-date information is available to relevant authorities.

“Beneficial ownership refers to individuals who ultimately own or control an entity,” Ebanks said. “It’s a powerful tool that helps law enforcement, tax and other authorities to deter, detect, prosecute, and sanction financial and other crime. This event provided an opportunity to highlight the strength of the Cayman Islands BO framework and our proactive planned enhancements.”

In addition to participating in talks about the challenging subject of a beneficial ownership register that can be accessed by the public, the minister also engaged this week with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) at a plenary session, during which Jamaica was removed from its black list.

“Having experienced that achievement ourselves earlier this year, we understand the effort required to satisfy the FATF standard,” Ebanks said. “We join the CFATF in heartily congratulating Jamaica for underscoring that Caribbean countries are participating in the global fight against illicit crimes and upholding international AML standards.”

Following the plenary, the CIG delegation and Cayman Finance hosted a government and industry roundtable, which Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) representatives also attended. “This roundtable exchanged extremely valuable suggestions on how Cayman Islands financial services can be innovated and better integrated into Asia’s commercial and regulatory frameworks,” Ebanks said.

The week concluded with the FATF/UK FCA roundtable regarding Designated Non-Financial Business or Profession (DNFBP) businesses, a group that includes law and accounting firms. This roundtable focused on AML practices and developing standards for DNFBPs. It was attended by private sector practitioners, government officials, regulators and a representative of the International Federation of Accountants.

Meanwhile, the reception for the opening of the Asia Office, which, it is hoped, will help this jurisdiction attract new business from that side of the world, was hosted by CIG Representative Gene DaCosta at Swissotel The Stamford, a luxury hotel in Singapore. Officials from FATF member countries and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), which supports FATF’s work in this region, also attended.

As well as the minister, the Cayman Islands delegation included Chief Officer Dr Dax Basdeo, CIG Deputy Representative for Financial Services to Europe Julie Campbell, CIMA Managing Director Cindy Scotland, Head of the Anti-Money Laundering Division Judiann Myles, Deputy Head of the Anti-Money Laundering Division Megan Powell, and Cayman Finance CEO Steve McIntosh.