Regulatory Blog

On 9 February 2024, the BVI Financial Investigation Agency issued an updated Money Laundering Reporting Officer Notification Form. The updated form must be used by relevant institutions and when submitting details to the FIA about the proposed appointments of an MLRO, current or past MLROs.

On 18 January 2024, the European Commission published the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/163 dated 12 December 2023, amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1675. This amendment involves removing the Cayman Islands from the AML list of high-risk third countries on the basis that these countries have addressed their strategic deficiencies in anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism regimes.

On 8 January 2024, the UK Parliament removed the Cayman Islands from the list of high-risk third countries.

On 27 October 2023, the Cayman Islands successfully achieved its goal of being removed from the Financial Action Task Force's "grey list" after two years of dedicated efforts. This achievement is the result of collaborative work by both public and private sectors, which worked to meet the global anti-money laundering standards set by the FATF. The Minister of Financial Services and Commerce, André Ebanks, expressed his delight at this accomplishment, highlighting the shared determination to shed the "grey list" status.

The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force is actively seeking input on its methodology revisions related to Recommendations 24 and 25 concerning beneficial ownership.

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.

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 5 May 2023, the Cayman Islands' Ministry of Financial Services issued a press release stating that a delegation led by the Attorney General, the Hon. Samuel Bulgin, KC and the Minister for Financial Services and Commerce, the Hon. André Ebanks, recently visited Mexico to provide updates to the Financial Action Task Force on their efforts to improve anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism policies and procedures. The delegation also discussed the FATF’s final recommended action for the Cayman Islands.

The BVI recently brought into force the Virtual Assets Service Providers Act 2022, which establishes a new legal framework for the registration and supervision of individuals and businesses providing virtual asset services. The VASP Act was enacted on 1 February 2023. Importantly, the transitional framework closes on 31 July 2023. Note, you may need to take action now if you are active in this area.