Topic: Paul Inniss

More than $24 million was collected by 523 registered non-profit organisations in the Cayman Islands between 2019 and 2020. Of that amount, $18 million...

Cayman's registrar of non-profit organisations has declined further comment on the non-compliance notice issued to St. Ignatius Catholic Church and School last month.

Just under half of Cayman’s 546 non-profit organisations have failed to file annual returns, Head of Compliance Paul Inniss at the General Registry said.

The registrar for non-profit organisations addressed dozens of charitable organisations on their money laundering, terrorist financing, targeted financial sanctions and proliferation financing risks at an information session on Thursday, 5 Sept.

Officials from the General Registry and the Ministry of Financial Services have met with local banks to address concerns over onerous banking requirements for charitable organizations, specifically in relation to problems experienced by nonprofit organizations to open bank accounts.

Only one-fifth of charitable organizations have registered as nonprofit organizations under a law that was passed last year, according to the Ministry of Financial Services.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, numerous charities have been created to help the islands that have been hit hardest. However, many of those organizations have sprung up overnight, with no apparent track record of performing charitable deeds.

Government currently has no idea about how many nonprofit organizations operate in the territory, according to Ministry of Financial Services and Home Affairs Policy Officer Wilbur Welcome. Such lack of information is a problem for a jurisdiction susceptible to being used for terrorist financing and other nefarious activities, he said.