“The Cayman Islands government has announced that it intends to introduce a public register of beneficial ownership of all financial entities domiciled by 2023”, reports International Investment.
The objective of the new register would be to align the jurisdictions with changing standards and international regulations, such as those exemplified in the European Union’s 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5).
Premier Alden McLaughlin said that the timeline announced on October 8th “recognises the work necessary to create a register that is sufficiently robust and capable of suitable levels of interoperability”.
Financial Services Minister Tara Rivers said the commitment reinforced Cayman’s standing as a leading International financial centre, adding.
“It is appropriate that other jurisdictions with developed financial services industries follow suit, and we will make every effort to support the global development and implementation of evolving international standards in this area. We stand ready to work collaboratively with other jurisdictions as a common approach emerges in the design and maintenance of verified beneficial ownership registers.”
The Cayman Islands’ government announcement followed a similar one by the British Crown Dependencies earlier this year.
At Know Your Customer, we welcome any steps undertaken by governments towards transparency and easier-to-access registries of official ownership information, especially in traditionally more protective jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands.
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Last updated on March 21st, 2024 at 01:53 pm
