Black Immigrant Daily News

When it comes to Cayman’s compliance with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the new government has taken positive steps ensure that Cayman continues to adhere to international requirements. This is also the case in relation to similar concerns raised by the European Union (EU). All of the work to date, however, may be in peril if the FATF and the EU continue to see new products in the virtual assets space as facilitating money laundering and terrorist financing rather than eliminating or mitigating the risks.

FATF Recommendation 15

The general concern for the risks surrounding these new products is found under FATF Recommendation 15. It says that “countries and financial institutions should identify and assess the money laundering or terrorist financing risks that may arise in relation to (a) the development of new products and new business practices, including new delivery mechanisms, and (b) the use of new or developing technologies for both new and pre-existing products. ” In practice, these risks must be assessed prior to the launch of new products.

In relation to the assessment of risks, FATF Recommendation 15 says that, to manage and mitigate the risks emerging from virtual assets, countries should ensure that virtual asset service providers are regulated for AML/CFT purposes and licensed or registered and subject to effective systems for monitoring and ensuring compliance with the relevant measures called for in the FATF Recommendations. To comply with the regulatory spirit of FATF Recommendation 15, Cayman has passed the Virtual Asset (Service Providers) Act, requiring persons who carry on, or purport to carry on, virtual asset service in or from within the Cayman Islands to register with the regulator.

Regarding the implementation of relevant measures to prevent the misuse of virtual assets for money laundering and terrorist financing, the Cayman authorities published notices that Part XA of the Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 2020 (“AMLRs”), commenced on July 1, 2022, to address identification and record-keeping requirements relating to transfers of virtual assets. However, the onus is on virtual asset service providers to advise the Cayman regulator how such providers will comply with these requirements, including details of their compliance arrangements, relevant policies and procedures and the use of resources (including technological tools). If providers are compliant with the AMLRS and any other relevant Act and the regulator is satisfied as to such compliance, the exercise could result in the prevention of criminals or their associates from holding, or being the beneficial owner of, a significant or controlling interest, or holding a management function in, a virtual asset service provider.

Ongoing monitoring

The initial assessment of virtual asset service providers for compliance is not the end of the exercise, either. There must be ongoing regulation and supervision or monitoring to ensure that virtual asset service providers are effectively implementing the relevant FATF Recommendations (enshrined in a careful and responsible manner within relevant Cayman laws) to mitigate money laundering and terrorist financing risks emerging from virtual assets, including risks associated with to decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), unhosted wallets, the potential misuse of virtual assets for sanctions evasion and the threat posed by ransomware actors who may misuse virtual assets to facilitate payments in connection with cybercrimes. In relation to DeFi, an FATF report dated June 2022 noted that DeFi is “increasingly used for money laundering, and the percentage of funds sent from illicit wallets to DeFi protocols compared to centralized exchanges is increasing; DeFi received 17% of all funds sent from illicit wallets in 2021 (15% in 2020).”

International cooperation

In addition to local assessment of emerging risks, where money laundering and terrorist financing concerns for a particular virtual asset service provider are communicated from another country to the Cayman regulator, the Cayman regulator will be expected, in the spirit if the FATF Recommendations and existing agreements, to exchange information promptly and constructively with its foreign counterparts. The response to such requests, gathering and sharing of relevant information may involve the consideration of complex matters, however, including data protection and privacy rules, which may slow down the sharing of information or present barriers to sharing information.

Consequences of compliance failures

The implication of all of the foregoing is that, while Cayman may soon come off FATF and EU lists of countries dubbed as having strategic deficiencies in relation to their anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing regimes, any misuse of virtual assets connected to a local virtual asset service provider to facilitate money laundering or terrorist financing or any failure to mitigate such risks (which is later detected in an FATF inspection or review) may put Cayman right back on the map as a candidate for future EU or FATF grey or black lists.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

A 28 ans, Jade Amory a créé, en parallèle de son métier de décoratrice 3D dans un studio d’animation parisien réputé, le personnage de Noémie. Une petite fille qui découvre les endroits les plus emblématiques des Antilles dans des livres jeunesse colorés. De passage sur son île natale, l’illustratrice passionnée est revenue sur la naissance de cette collection, inspirée de ses propres souvenirs d’enfant. 

France-Antilles Martinique

940 mots – 13.07.2022

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In this file photo, a group of young men set fire to debris on Production Drive, Sea Lots on July 4, to protest against the police killing of two teenagers and another young man by police on July 2 in Port of Spain. – ROGER JACOB

AN Opposition MP and senator have called on the people of TT not to riot with fire and protest but riot with their voting fingers next election.

Saying enough was enough, Opposition Senator Damian Lyder lashed out at National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds who accused unnamed persons of orchestrating and financing the violent protest in Port of Spain last week Monday.

Hinds stopped short of calling names but from the UNC virtual report platform on Monday night, Lyder told him the only riot UNC members will be engaged in is with their voting fingers come next election.

“If you name man, call the name of the person financing it.”

He recalled Hinds’ predecessor Stuart Young offered the same narrative when a similar situation led to the protests, some two years ago, but the alleged culprits were never identified.

“You playing from the same play book of Stuart Young and the Prime Minister changing the narrative and calling for better parenting.”

He said no orchestration or money exchanged hands for people to react, it was because the PNM had failed to commit to providing solutions to fix the problems of the constituency it represents.

“Instead of attending to the needs of the people who voted for the PNM ever since the West Indian Federation collapsed, they are checking to see who caused riots.

“Let me tell you what caused the riots. The people are fed up of poor education. The people are fed up of poor health care. The people are fed up of poor infrastructure, where a cesspit is exposed in the Beetham for months.

“The people are fed up of poor national security when they see questionable killings. And the people are fed up of joblessness when they have no money to feed their families.

“That is why they are rioting. Don’t drop your people under the bus, Rowley. Don’t drop your constituents under the bus, Hinds. Get up, man up. They voted for you. Do your ‘wuk.”

He cautioned Government to observe and heed the political turnaround in Sri Lanka and United Kingdom where leaders were forced to step down when the people joined forces to signal their political dissent.

He called on the Rowley administration to do the country a favour and leave.

In the absence of that, Lyder pledged, “come next general election we will riot with our voting fingers.”

Moruga MP Michelle Benjamin echoed a similar call for citizens to riot with voting fingers next election.

She said her farmers in her constituency were being continuously victimised and side-stepped by Government when they were willing to contribute to the food basket of the nation.

Instead of running to Guyana to talk about agriculture, she said the Prime Minister could have engaged Moruga/Tableland farmers who have the potential to reduce the food import bill and increase export and earn foreign exchange at the same time. “

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Mourners surround the casket of Leonardo Williams at his funeral at Bible Way Temple, Morvant, on Tuesday. – SUREASH CHOLAI

MOURNERS at the Bible Way Temple, Lady Young Road, Morvant were told now is the time for love as they paid their final respects to 17-year-old Leonardo “Naldo” Williams, the last of three killed by police on July 2 to be buried.

Williams’ godfather Stephen Williams, not the former police commissioner, told the packed church that while they are hurting, now is the time to express love.

“Let us spread love. Let us let love come out of this, not hate. I know we have hurting feelings and so on, but let us love.”

Others who spoke of Williams all described him as a fun-loving, friendly and warm-hearted person. His sister Lilly said she planned to make her brother and best friend proud of the person she becomes.

“My brother was the most forward-thinking person I know. He had a real ambition. No words could really explain how I am feeling right now, but I don’t want to talk about how he died but how he lived.”

Williams, along with his friends Isaiah Roberts, 17, and Fabien Richards, 21, were killed by police on July 2. The three were among six in a car and were shot at after police claimed they were fired upon first and had to return fire.

Like his friend Richards, Williams’ body was taken to his home in Beetham Gardens prior to the ceremony. His neighbour Roselyn Cain said she knew Williams growing up and he was never disrespectful to her in any way.

“We have to try to watch our young ones because let me tell you something, it’s the good ones that go. We as a community have to look after the children. People like to think we can’t tell children what to do. It takes a community to raise a child. So let us get together and raise our children.”

Bishop Curtis Paul, like the other ministers at the funerals for Roberts and Richards, stressed the importance of using one’s time wisely.

On Monday Bishop Patrick Denoon of the St John’s Spiritual and Love Baptist Church, at Richards’ funeral, borrowed from Pastor Wayne Baptiste, who officiated at Roberts’ funeral three days earlier. The common thread in all sermons was about not wasting time.

Paul said: “I want to say that death is no respecter of any person. Naldo was a young man, who had dreams, who had only now started living and death came, so even for you it will come. So please make sure you are ready for when it comes.”

He told the congregation each of them had a purpose and they should not settle for anything less than learning what that person is and fulfilling it. Paul urged the congregation to be conscious of what they are doing with their lives and to take full advantage of education, just as Williams intended, by enrolling in the Civilian Conservation Corps.

At the end of the service, gospel artiste Jaron Nurse sang his hit Fed Up, which speaks to gunmen turning away from a life of crime to a life of Jesus Christ. He told those gathered that he met Williams and other friends once and had a conversation with them about living a life pleasurable to God.

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