The Enforcement Manual - Regulatory Handbook, Volume 2

Summary

This is Volume 2 of CIMA's Regulatory Handbook, the Enforcement Manual, which sets out CIMA's internal policies and procedures for taking enforcement action, imposing administrative fines, discretionary publication of enforcement outcomes, and dealing with Authorised Persons with whom it has lost contact. The Manual expressly states it does not itself create new legal obligations or requirements for Authorised Persons, but serves as a reference to how CIMA will exercise its statutory powers under the Monetary Authority Act and related Regulatory Acts.

• Part I - Enforcement Actions: Describes CIMA's investigation powers, decision-making committees, supervisory letters, warning and decision notices, and enforcement actions ranging from suspension/revocation of a licence or registration, substitution of directors/officers found not fit and proper, appointment of a controller or advisor, winding up/receivership, to referral to prosecutorial authorities.
• Part II - Administrative Fines: Sets out how CIMA investigates and imposes fines for Minor, Serious and Very Serious breaches, including the fixed (non-discretionary) fine of CI$5,000 for Minor breaches (with continuing fines up to CI$20,000 total), discretionary fines up to CI$50,000 (individual) or CI$100,000 (corporate) for Serious breaches, and up to CI$100,000 (individual) or CI$1,000,000 (corporate) for Very Serious breaches, the five-step calculation process, serious financial hardship considerations, and early settlement/discount agreements.
• Part III - Discretionary Publication: Explains the criteria, timing, form, content and internal approval process CIMA follows when deciding whether to publicly disclose enforcement actions, plus mandatory statutory publication requirements under various Regulatory Acts.
• Part IV - Lost Contact Procedures: Describes the steps CIMA takes to locate an Authorised Person before resorting to posting Warning, Decision, Breach or Fine Notices on its website, including the effect on fitness and propriety assessments and how notices are removed once contact or compliance is restored.

The Manual applies to all Authorised Persons (licensees, registrants and other regulated or supervised persons) subject to CIMA's enforcement and administrative fine powers under the Regulatory Acts and the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations. It is a procedural reference for how CIMA exercises existing statutory powers rather than a source of new compliance duties, though it describes response and rectification windows that affect parties facing enforcement action.

Key obligations

• A party that has received a Breach Notice for a Minor Breach may submit a Rectification Notice to CIMA confirming the breach was rectified within thirty days after receiving the Breach Notice
• Authorised Persons must keep CIMA updated with current contact details (registered/principal office, e-mail) via the relevant online portal, as CIMA will rely on last-provided contact details before resorting to public website notices for lost contact

Applies to

Authorised Persons, Licensees, Registrants, Registered Persons, Supervised Persons, banks, trust companies, insurance licensees, securities investment business licensees, money services licensees, virtual asset service providers, mutual fund promoters

Deadlines

• thirty days after the Party received the Breach Notice: Deadline for a party to rectify a Minor Breach and submit a Rectification Notice to CIMA