In early March, the Cayman Islands became the first British Overseas Territory to host the UK government’s key sanctions forum. Organised by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the FCDO Sanctions Forum hosted delegates from the UK, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories.
The event, which ran from 3-5 March, comes at a key time for both the UK and Cayman. The UK is set to assume the presidency of the Financial Action Task Force in July and used the forum to highlight its likely priorities. For Cayman, hosting the forum was a chance to showcase the jurisdiction’s sanctions readiness ahead of the looming FATF evaluation in 2027.
“Cayman has demonstrated it is a leader in the region and hosting an event such as this helps both the enhancement of the operational level of the various sanctions regimes, but also assists with the wider international cooperation aspect, in terms of fostering and building upon working relationships with relevant counterparts,” said Elisabeth Lees, co-founder of boutique regulatory compliance firm Claritas.
Hosting the forum was “a straightforward choice for Cayman”, said Premier and Minister for Financial Services and Commerce André Ebanks. “It reflects our commitment, as a globally recognised financial services centre, to strong regulatory standards and close international cooperation to combat sanctions evasion and illicit finance,” said Ebanks.
A key theme to emerge from the forum was the increasing use of cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions. Passing and implementing the Virtual Asset (Service Providers) Act in 2020 was one reason why Cayman was removed from the task force’s grey list in October 2023. In turn, the solid regulatory framework created by the VASP Act has helped to attract more digital asset businesses.
UK-Cayman relationship
The fact that Cayman is the first British Overseas Territory to hold the event demonstrates the close cooperation between the two despite the occasional disagreements regarding beneficial ownership.
Governor Jane Owen, who like Ebanks also spoke at the event, said, “it is clear that the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies continue to play a critical role in delivering an effective, coordinated response, due to their weight within global financial flows”.
In an 11 March interview with the Compass, Ebanks outlined the strategic and financial value that the Overseas Territories could potentially deliver to the UK. “We would love for them to see the value that they have in some of their Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies as sophisticated, modern financial centres of excellence, at a time where the UK is in a different position than it was pre-Brexit,” said Ebanks.
“There’s a lot more that the UK can do in terms of linking its financial services, systems and industries with its global family,” said Ebanks.
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