Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 (SL 8 of 2024)

Summary

This is an amendment to the Cayman Islands' Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (2023 Revision), made under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Its central purpose is to extend the existing anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) framework to explicitly cover counter-proliferation financing (CPF) — i.e. compliance with targeted financial sanctions related to weapons proliferation financing under UN Security Council Resolutions. Throughout the principal Regulations, references to 'money laundering and terrorist financing' risks, measures and requirements are amended to also capture 'proliferation financing'.

Key Changes Introduced

• Renumbering: All Parts of the principal Regulations are renumbered from Roman to Arabic numerals.
• Risk assessment (regulation 8): The core risk-assessment provision is repealed and substituted to require persons carrying out relevant financial business to identify, assess, document and mitigate proliferation financing risk alongside ML/TF risk.
• CDD/wire transfer threshold: The customer due diligence/wire transfer threshold is lowered from CI$15,000 to CI$10,000.
• DNFBP obligations: New obligations are introduced for DNFBPs (designated non-financial businesses and professions) to produce information to their Supervisory Authority and to notify the Supervisory Authority in certain circumstances; the provision on Supervisory Authorities of DNFBPs is replaced.
• Administrative fines: Administrative fine liability (including specific fine amounts of $100,000 and $250,000) is extended to partnerships and unincorporated associations, not just individuals and bodies corporate.

The amendments apply to persons carrying out relevant financial business (i.e. AML-regulated financial institutions), financial groups, and DNFBPs regulated under the AML framework, as well as the Supervisory Authorities responsible for overseeing them (including CIMA and other Supervisory Authorities). The Regulations were made in Cabinet on 9 April 2024 and gazetted on 19 April 2024, and are stated to be in force.

Key obligations

• Persons carrying out relevant financial business must identify, assess, understand and document their money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing risks in relation to customers, geographic areas, products/services/transactions, and delivery channels (new regulation 8).
• Such persons must implement senior-management-approved policies, controls and procedures to manage and mitigate identified ML, TF and PF risks, and must monitor and enhance those controls where necessary.
• Where higher proliferation financing risks are identified, enhanced due diligence measures must be applied to detect possible breaches, non-implementation or evasion of targeted financial sanctions; where lower PF risk is identified, measures must still be commensurate with risk and comply with applicable targeted financial sanctions.
• DNFBPs have a duty to produce information to their Supervisory Authority on request (new regulation 53AA) and, under new regulation 55MA, a duty to notify the Supervisory Authority in prescribed circumstances.
• The customer identification/verification threshold in regulation 20(3)(d) is reduced from fifteen thousand dollars to ten thousand dollars, requiring compliance with the lower threshold going forward.
• Persons carrying out relevant financial business must file suspicious activity reports where proliferation financing (in addition to money laundering or terrorist financing) is suspected, per amended regulation 19.
• Partnerships and unincorporated associations (in addition to individuals and bodies corporate) are now subject to specified administrative fines (e.g. $100,000 and $250,000 amounts under amended regulation 55S) and to offence liability under amended regulation 57.

Applies to

persons carrying out relevant financial business, DNFBPs (designated non-financial businesses and professions), financial groups, partnerships, unincorporated associations, bodies corporate, Supervisory Authorities

Related documents

• This document amends Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (2025 Revision)
• Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (2025 Revision) replaces this document