Regulatory Blog

The Financial Action Task Force recently appointed the Cayman Islands and Senegal as the first guest members under its Regional Bodies' Guest Initiative. This programme, led by FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo, invites two to three guest countries from underrepresented regions to participate in FATF meetings and working groups for a year, enhancing global financial security perspectives.

On 5 August 2024, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission published CySEC Directive R.A.D 282/2024 which amends the CySEC Directive for the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing 2020. These changes are aimed at enhancing the framework for preventing money laundering and terrorism financing in the Republic of Cyprus.

The BVI Financial Services Commission published Industry Circular 24 of 2024 on Financial Action Task Force National Risk Assessment Guidance. The FATF is revising its guidance on National Risk Assessments for money laundering. This update aims to make the NRA guidance more effective, comprehensive, and useful for all stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society.

The Financial Action Task Force released public statements highlighting jurisdictions with deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism regimes. In response, the BVI Financial Services Commission issued Industry Circular 26 of 2024, advising compliance with these updates.

On 9 July 2024, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released its fifth update on the implementation of the FATF standards focusing on the application of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) measures to virtual assets (VAs) and virtual asset service providers (VASPs).

On 28 June 2024, the Financial Action Task Force published an update on the jurisdictions under increased monitoring that are collaborating with FATF addressing deficiencies in their anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and counter-proliferation financing regimes. Being on this "grey list" signifies a country's commitment to resolving these issues swiftly under agreed timelines.

On 28 June 2024, the Financial Action Task Force highlighted significant deficiencies in high-risk jurisdictions' efforts to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. On that basis, FATF released a call for action on its members and other jurisdictions to apply countermeasures to safeguard the global financial system. Iran remains the sole country listed since February 2020, with no substantial changes reported as of January 2024.

On 30 April 2024, the Cayman Islands Ministry of Financial Services and Commerce published a public consultation seeking feedback on the draft Beneficial Ownership Transparency Regulations, 2024, alongside accompanying guidance documents. These regulatory measures are designed to support transparency within legal entities operating in the Cayman Islands, aligning with international standards and best practices.

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.