In October 2023, the Cayman Islands was removed from the Financial Action Task Force list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, often referred to as the grey list.
This reinforced an important reality for Cayman’s financial services sector: compliance with global standards is a permanent responsibility that underpins international confidence.
For Cayman based financial institutions and service providers, alignment with anti money laundering, counter terrorist financing, and counter proliferation financing standards remains essential to protecting market access, investor trust, and the jurisdiction’s reputation.
These same pressures are felt across the Caribbean, but they are particularly concentrated in Cayman due to the scale and international nature of its financial sector.
Understanding the FATF and Its Role
The Financial Action Task Force, commonly referred to as FATF, is an intergovernmental body that sets international standards for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
FATF does not regulate individual firms. Its mandate is to assess countries and territories to determine whether their legal, regulatory, and supervisory frameworks meet agreed global expectations.
FATF outcomes are closely watched by international regulators and counterparties and can influence how jurisdictions are risk assessed.
What the FATF Mutual Evaluation Process Assesses
FATF mutual evaluations are in depth country reports that analyse both implementation and effectiveness of measures to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
They are peer reviews where members from different countries assess another country’s framework.
Each evaluation focuses on two core areas. The first is technical compliance, which assesses whether laws and regulations align with the FATF Recommendations. The second is effectiveness, which evaluates how well those measures operate in practice.
Effectiveness assessments examine supervisory activity, enforcement outcomes, use of financial intelligence, and cooperation between authorities.
Why Compliance Matters at Firm Level in Cayman
Although FATF assessments are conducted at jurisdiction level, firm level behaviour plays a decisive role in shaping outcomes.
Regulators rely on evidence from banks, trust companies, fund administrators, insurers, and corporate service providers to demonstrate that controls are consistently effective across the financial system.
In Cayman, weaknesses within individual firms can have wider reputational and regulatory consequences for the jurisdiction as a whole.
This risk profile is common in smaller Caribbean markets, where deficiencies are more visible and harder to contain.
As a result, boards and senior management must treat compliance as a strategic risk issue rather than a purely operational requirement.
The Role of ACAMS in Supporting Compliance Capability
The Association of Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialists, known as ACAMS, is a global professional membership organisation focused on financial crime prevention.
ACAMS provides education, certification, and practical resources used across banking, funds, insurance, and professional services.
In the Cayman Islands, access to consistent professional training supports the development of compliance capability aligned with international standards while remaining grounded in local regulatory expectations.
Technology as an Enabler of Effective Compliance
Demonstrating compliance effectiveness increasingly depends on accurate data, consistent documentation, and timely reporting.
As regulatory expectations increase, manual processes alone are often insufficient to meet supervisory scrutiny.
In Cayman’s regulated environment, technology supports compliance by improving visibility, strengthening audit trails, and reducing operational risk.
Commonly used cloud-based systems across regulated financial services include:
- World Check One, supporting sanctions screening and customer risk profiling.
- Actimize AML, enabling transaction monitoring and alert management.
- ComplyAdvantage, providing real time financial crime risk intelligence.
- Archer GRC, supporting structured risk and compliance documentation.
- Power BI, enabling management visibility and regulatory reporting.
When aligned with governance and oversight, these systems help firms evidence effectiveness without creating unnecessary complexity.
Why This Matters for Cayman and the Wider Region
Cayman’s experience demonstrates that sustained compliance is central to maintaining trust in small, internationally exposed financial centres.
Other Caribbean jurisdictions face similar pressures as global standards evolve and scrutiny increases.
Strong compliance frameworks support economic resilience, protect employment, and preserve access to international markets.
Cayman’s continued focus on effectiveness therefore remains relevant both locally and as a reference point for the wider region.
A Practical Next Step for Regulated Businesses
For organisations reviewing how well technology supports their compliance and reporting obligations, targeted improvements can deliver meaningful risk reduction.
Improved data quality, clearer reporting, and stronger documentation all contribute to supervisory readiness.