It has been two years since the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) introduced its Rule on Corporate Governance for Regulated Entities (the “Corporate Governance Rule”), and a year and a half since it came into force....more
5/29/2025
/ Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Due Diligence ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Funds ,
Outsourcing ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management
Welcome to the first 2025 edition of our Regulatory & Risk Advisory Review. In this instalment, we provide a comprehensive overview of the latest regulatory developments to ensure you have the most up-to-date insights into...more
4/25/2025
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
FATF ,
Fees ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
General Licenses ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management
The Cayman Islands Government has taken a significant step in the regulation of virtual asset service providers (VASPs) with the commencement of the licensing regime under the Virtual Asset (Service Providers) Act (as...more
4/23/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
FinTech ,
Licensing Rules ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency
The Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority (the “TIA”) is responsible for monitoring compliance and taking enforcement action with regards to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), pursuant to the Tax Information Authority...more
The Beneficial Ownership Transparency (Access Restriction) Regulations, 2024 (the “Access Restriction Regulations”) commenced on 28 February 2025 and will supplement the Beneficial Ownership regime in the Cayman Islands. The...more
The Beneficial Ownership Transparency (Legitimate Interest Access) Regulations, 2024 commenced on 28 February 2025. Under these Regulations, the Cayman Islands Registrar (the “Registrar”) may provide access to the information...more
The VASP Act defines “Virtual Assets” as digital representations of value that can be digitally traded or transferred and can be used for payment or investment purposes. Digital representations of fiat currencies (which is...more
3/5/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
FATF ,
FinTech ,
Licensing Rules ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sandbox ,
Stablecoins ,
Trading Platforms
In the First Edition of our Regulatory Disputes Series, digital assets and fintech topped our list of hot topics to watch for the future of offshore regulatory disputes. In this Fourth Edition, we provide an update on...more
1/24/2025
/ Cayman Islands ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinTech ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technology Sector
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (“CIMA”) has issued a new Rule and Statement of Guidance on the obligations for the provision of virtual asset services – Virtual Asset Custodians and Trading Platforms (the “Rule”). With...more
1/13/2025
/ Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management
The Financial Services Institute in collaboration with Conyers, Grant Thornton and the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) hosted a comprehensive and in-depth seminar on “Corporate Governance & Risk Management for Cayman...more
Following consultations earlier this year, the Virtual Asset (Service Providers) (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (the Bill) has been gazetted and represents a major milestone in enhancing the Cayman Islands’ regulatory landscape for...more
As we gear up for the final quarter of 2024, this is an excellent time to review Cayman based entities with a financial year end of 31 December 2024 and consider the position of these entities with respect to the Cayman...more
12/6/2024
/ Business Entities ,
Cayman Islands ,
Corporate Structures ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Economic Substance Doctrine ,
Filing Requirements ,
International Tax Issues ,
Jurisdiction ,
Offshore Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Relevant Legal Entity (RLE) ,
TRO
What is the Travel Rule?
The virtual asset “Travel Rule”, formally known as the “Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 16”, requires Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to share and hold specific customer...more
12/4/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Digital Assets ,
FATF ,
FinTech ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Travel Rule
As we approach year-end, we remind all Cayman Islands investment funds registered with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) of CIMA’s Rule on Corporate Governance for Regulated Entities and the Rule and Statement of...more
11/27/2024
/ Annual Meeting ,
Board Meetings ,
Board of Directors ,
Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Corporate Governance ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment Funds ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Venture Capital
Welcome to the third Regulatory & Risk Advisory Review instalment of 2024. In this edition we cover the latest Cayman Islands regulatory updates including the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act and The Perpetuities...more
10/23/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU Horizontal Safeguard Regulation (HSR) ,
FATF ,
Filing Requirements ,
General Licenses ,
International Tax Authority ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rule Against Perpetuities ,
Sanctions
The evolution of the cryptocurrency landscape has led to the development and rapid adoption of stablecoins globally. A stablecoin, as the name suggests, is essentially a virtual asset that is designed to maintain a stable...more
10/17/2024
/ Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Investment ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities ,
SIBA ,
Stablecoins ,
Virtual Currency
In recent years, the virtual asset industry has experienced exponential growth, bringing about innovations in digital payments, tokenisation and decentralised finance (Defi). While highly innovative, the volatile nature of...more
10/3/2024
/ Blockchain ,
Cayman Islands ,
Corporate Governance ,
Crisis Management ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Service Providers ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Internal Controls ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Management ,
Tokenization ,
Trading Platforms ,
Transparency ,
Virtual Currency
As the global financial landscape continues to evolve, the rapid growth of virtual assets and use of blockchain technology has prompted governments worldwide to reassess their legal and regulatory frameworks. The emergence of...more
10/2/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Blockchain ,
Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Service Providers ,
FinTech ,
Innovative Technology ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Technology
The Cayman Islands is in the process of implementing fundamental changes to its beneficial ownership regime. Most significantly, these include the removal of exemptions applicable under the previous regime, as well as more...more
A warm welcome to the Summer edition of Conyers Coverage. The whirlwind that is the Cayman Islands (re)insurance industry continues to blow with gusto! To keep you updated on recent developments, we include various items from...more
8/29/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Data Breach ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Economic Substance Doctrine ,
EU ,
Insurance Industry ,
NAIC ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reinsurance
It has now been over a year since the updated Enforcement Guidelines: Economic Substance (the “Guidelines”) were issued on 31 March 2023, outlining the enforcement powers and processes of the Cayman Islands Tax Information...more
8/27/2024
/ Business Entities ,
Cayman Islands ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Economic Substance Doctrine ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Guidance Update ,
Insurance Industry ,
International Tax Authority ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Requirements
Welcome to the second instalment of 2024 of the Regulatory & Risk Advisory Review. In this edition we cover several Cayman Islands regulatory updates including updates to the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act, the...more
7/23/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Common Reporting Standard (CRS) ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Digital Assets ,
Dispute Resolution ,
FATCA ,
FATF ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Fund Managers ,
Insolvency ,
Investment Funds ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Venture Capital
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (“CIMA”) has issued a regulatory policy (the “Policy”) outlining the criteria for approving Registration or Licensing of Virtual Asset Service Providers (“VASPs”).
The Policy applies to...more
7/19/2024
/ Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Digital Assets ,
FinTech ,
License Applications ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trading Platforms
The International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Act (2024 Revision) (the “ES Act”) was brought into force to demonstrate the commitment of the Cayman Islands as a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation...more
The Financial Services Institute in collaboration with Conyers, Grant Thornton and Cayman Finance hosted its fourth comprehensive training seminar on “Preparing for an Onsite Inspection from the Cayman Islands Monetary...more
5/24/2024
/ Business Entities ,
Cayman Islands ,
CIMA ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Investigations ,
Corporate Management ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Inspections ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Management ,
Strategic Planning