Local experts discuss financial industry resilience and differentiation at Cayman regulatory seminar

Senior representatives from HM Revenue & Customs in the UK and the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority were among the speakers at Mourant Ozannes' eighth annual Cayman regulatory seminar which took place on 2 February 2018, under the theme 'Existential challenges meet industry differentiation and resilience'.

The seminar, chaired by Mourant Ozannes Partner, Hector Robinson QC, highlighted new and existing legal and regulatory challenges facing the financial services industry and provided insight as to how the industry can not only meet these challenges, but also take advantage of the opportunities they present.

Special guest speaker Jennifer Haslett, of the Corporate Crime and Criminal Engagement Unit at HM Revenue & Customs, gave a presentation on the role of businesses in tackling financial crime, particularly the newly created corporate offences under the UK Criminal Finances Act, 2017. She used the example of the characters of the hugely popular British television series McMafia not only to provide useful guidelines as to the procedures businesses should adopt to prevent and avoid financial crime, but also to demonstrate the continuing and frustrating lack of awareness among British officials and the public, of the high level of legal and regulatory compliance in the Cayman Islands.

Mourant Ozannes partners, Simon Dickson and Nicholas Fox, and counsel, Andrew Peedom, advised participants on the options open to them and the steps to take when faced with a tax information exchange request. They created quite a buzz when they used a highly interactive online polling app to test attendees on their level of engagement during the presentation.

Following this session, Justine Plenkiewicz, head of the Policy and Development Division at the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, explained the meaning of the FATF's Risk Based Approach. She explained the legal framework and provided insight on CIMA's expectations regarding this very important regulatory requirement.

The highly anticipated final session, hosted by Don Andrews, partner of Reed Smith LLP in New York, and Cayman Finance CEO Jude Scott, provided an extremely well received examination of the risks and opportunities associated with block chain, cryptocurrencies and fintech. The presentation lived up to its pre-seminar billing.

The event took place at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman Resort and ended with a networking drinks reception for all attendees.

Closing the event, Hector said, "We are pleased to have welcomed Jennifer, Justine, Don and Jude to join our Mourant Ozannes presenters in sharing their insights with the financial services industry at what has become an important event in the Cayman legal and regulatory calendar. We are always excited by the level of attendance over the years and this year was no exception with over 150 guests in attendance. We look forward to hosting this seminar again in the future."