The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority ("CIMA") issued a notice on 24 September 2018 (the "Notice") regarding deadlines for the appointment and notification of Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officers, Money Laundering Reporting Officers and Deputy Money Laundering Reporting Officers (together, the "AML Officers").
We have subsequently discussed the content of the Notice with CIMA and have been informed as follows:
- Funds registered with or licensed by CIMA ("Regulated Funds") are still expected to complete the appointment of the AML Officers by 30 September 2018. Such Regulated Funds will now have until 31 December 2018 to complete the relevant notification filings with CIMA.
- Funds that are not registered with or licensed by CIMA ("Unregulated Funds") have had the deadline for the appointment of AML Officers extended to 31 December 2018. There is currently no associated notification or filing requirement for Unregulated Funds.
To summarise:
Regulated Funds:
- Must appoint AML Officers by 30 September 2018
- Have a new CIMA notification deadline of 31 December 2018
Unregulated Funds:
- Have a new appointment deadline of 31 December 2018
- Currently have no notification obligation
Please note that:
- The above is applicable only to Regulated Funds and Unregulated Funds which were in existence prior to 1 June 2018. Any funds (whether Regulated Funds or Unregulated Funds) which commenced operations on or after 1 June 2018 are required to have AML Officers in place upon launch.
- The extensions referenced in the Notice are extensions to 'grace periods' only. The legal obligation to have AML Officers in place is strictly already applicable to all funds (whether Regulated Funds or Unregulated Funds) and therefore we would continue to recommend that clients attend to appointment and registration requirements as soon as possible.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
