The OECD has released the latest ratings against compliance with FATF recommendations rating the Cayman Islands "Largely Compliant". The rating places the Cayman Islands only one level below the maximum rankings and places the jurisdiction in the same category as countries such as the US, UK, and Germany.
In this latest ranking by the OECD, jurisdictions are evaluated based on if they have been subject to Phase 2 reviews — a more rigorous peer inspection on the effective compliance with the recommendations. For a country to be subject to Phase 2 review it first has to achieve a certain level of compliance with the Phase 1 review, which is focused on the laws and regulations and their alignment with the recommendations.
The fact that a country has been subject to Phase 2 review is an indication of its compliance with global standards, and only 50 jurisdictions have undergone Phase 2 reviews at this stage — Cayman being one of them. We should be especially proud of that achievement.
Of those 50 countries that have undergone Phase 2 reviews, four are rated Non-Compliant, two Partially Compliant, 26 Largely Compliant, and 18 Compliant.
The Cayman Islands Government should be commended, and Cayman should continue to strive towards compliance with standards providing that such standards are globally accepted and implemented.
While as a jurisdiction we want to ensure we attract the right business to our shores, we also need to ensure there is a level playing field with our competitors. Sometimes it may not be in our best interest to lead certain initiatives unless we can be assured these standards will be implemented across all jurisdictions.
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