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Prime Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, with leaders of the overseas territories, in London this week for the JMC. – Photo: supplied
A delegation from the Cayman Islands will leave for London this week for talks with British government leaders, amid renewed calls for greater transparency from offshore financial centres.
The annual meeting of the Joint Council of Ministers, which brings together heads of government from the British Overseas Territories including Bermuda, BVI and Cayman, has been preceded by a barrage of articles and editorials in the British press satirizing the islands for their perceived role in the field of taxation. evasion and money laundering.
The summit promises to be a baptism of fire for Prime Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly in her new additional role as Financial Services Minister. She took over the assignment from André Ebanks after he resigned from the cabinet last month.
Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, Prime Minister of Cayman, Minister of Financial Services and Trade, Education, Health, Finance and Economic Development, District Government and Lands, is leading a delegation of government officials to London this week. – Photo: supplied
Despite coming off the Financial Action Task Force’s ‘grey list’ last year And having been praised by the global watchdog for his reforms, Cayman continues to face criticism from MPs, special interest groups and newspapers in Britain.
Labour’s Dame Margaret Hodge and Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell, write in the Guardiancriticized “the hesitation and delay” of complete public registers of beneficial owners.
“We know all too well that the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies play a crucial role in helping crooks and tax evaders launder and hide their dirty money,” Hodge and Mitchell said in a leadership column in the left-wing newspaper.
“Public records and the scrutiny they bring are the best antidote to the scourge of illicit financing.”
Industry group Cayman Finance points out that beneficial ownership information has long been available to law enforcement authorities. And since 2017, the islands have implemented a system to make such information accessible to UK tax and law enforcement officials within 24 hours.
Further transparency is coming, Cayman Finance CEO Steve McIntosh said in an email response to the newspaper, shared with the Compass.
“The Cayman Islands Government is committed to making beneficial ownership information available to members of the public, such as journalists, academics and civil society representatives, who can demonstrate a legitimate interest, by the end of this year.”
MPs call for action
Such “legitimate interest” filters have been denounced by open registries advocates as diluting their impact and creating delays and barriers that could frustrate those seeking information.
A group of 40 MPs signed a letter to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy urging him to push for rapid progress on beneficial ownership registers at this week’s summit. Financial times reported.
The letter highlights an earlier commitment by overseas territories and Crown dependencies, such as Jersey and the Isle of Man, to introduce full public beneficial ownership registers by the end of last year.
It praises Lammy for his apparent intention to make London the “anti-corruption capital of the world” and suggests that Britain should the world’s “chief anti-corruption champion” as it effectively addresses perceived compliance gaps from its overseas territories.
“These areas previously committed to introducing registers by the end of 2023 – but almost all have failed to do so,” the letter from MPs said.
“Public records are needed to combat money laundering… (and) so we can track the money to identify potential misconduct.”
London is facing its own criticism
Despite these claims and grand ambitions, Britain and especially the City of London remain deeply involved in money laundering.
Respected international affairs think tank Chatham House has highlighted Britain’s “kleptocracy problem”. a paper which describes how “professional enablers” are exploiting loopholes in the country’s anti-corruption framework, leading to accusations that this country is the “global money laundering capital”.
“The exploitation of loopholes by professional actors has meant that little has been done in practice to prevent kleptocratic wealth and political agendas from entering Britain,” the report said.
The Financial Conduct Authority has also established this significant weaknesses overseen by the City of London is damaging efforts to stem the global flow of dirty money.
The Cayman Islands has introduced legislation in recent years to increase access to corporate information.
Russian oligarchs are said to have bought up high-quality real estate in London. – Photo: file
It has failed to fully make corporate ownership registers public, citing data privacy issues raised in a recent European Court of Justice ruling.
“This ruling outlined that persons accessing information in a beneficial ownership register must have a ‘legitimate interest’,” according to an analysis by Ocarian law firm in the Cayman Islands.
Transparency International has criticized the changes – set out in the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act and Regulations 2024 – suggesting they do not go far enough.
“By making it less burdensome and more accessible to individuals and organizations with a legitimate interest, the Cayman Islands has the opportunity to defend effective frameworks for legitimate interests and maintain its position as a financial center of excellence,” the organization said.
Stephen Doughty, the Minister for the Overseas Territories, has previously indicated that “where legitimate interest filters are implemented, this should be at a high level and as an intermediate step towards full public accessibility”.
Doughty will chair the two-day plenary meeting of the joint council of ministers from Wednesday.
Cayman Finance is fighting back against rhetoric
Citing an analysis by the global Financial Action Task Force showing that Cayman is one of the few countries to have implemented all 40 anti-money laundering regulations, Cayman Finance’s McIntosh hit back at allegations in the British media that the territory, along with the BVI , “has the worst track record” on illicit financing and has not provided a clear timetable for beneficial ownership registers.
From left to right, Cayman Finance CEO Steve McIntosh, Deputy Prime Minister André Ebanks, Cayman Islands Governor Jane Owen and Cayman Islands Monetary Authority Director Cindy Scotland participate in last year’s Cayman Finance roundtable in London.
“There is no evidence to support such claims regarding illegal financing or sanctions evasion in the Cayman Islands. Indeed, the available evidence contradicts these claims.
“It shows that money laundering cases involving the Cayman Islands are in fact extremely rare and that sanctions have been implemented effectively.”
Prime Minister organizes pre-summit conferences
The Cayman delegation had a busy day of discussions on the first day of the trip, Monday, including a meeting between the Prime Minister and Doughty.
Stephen Doughty with O’Connor-Connolly after a bilateral meeting on Monday. – Photo: supplied
“I believe our dialogue, while open and frank, is underpinned by mutual respect and sets the right tone for the important meetings that will be held this week,” O’Connor-Conolly said in a press release.
The Prime Minister, who also hosted a meeting of Overseas Territories leaders on Monday, added: “It is clear that the Overseas Territories share many common areas of interest and want a truly modern and renewed relationship with the new British Government.”