KPMG
in the Cayman Islands and the Financial Crime Investigation Unit
(FCIU) of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) held a two
day forum for stakeholders on the current financial crime landscape
in the Cayman Islands on May 21st
and 22nd,
2019. KPMG and the FCIU were joined by representatives from the City
of London Police, who shared their insight and experience on
financial crime with the attending delegates.

Hosted
by KPMG and the FCIU, the topics covered across the two day event
included an overview of today’s financial crime environment, models
for effective collaboration and an action plan for implementing a
cohesive, confident approach to managing financial crime in the
Cayman Islands.

Featured
speakers included Head of Learning and Skills, Mike Betts and
Economic Crime Trainer, DC Gareth Jenkins from the City of London
Police and DCI Richard Barrow from the FCIU. DCI Barrow provided
insight into his participation with the Caribbean Financial Action
Task Force (CFATF) review and the feedback provided on the National
Risk Assessment and the Cayman Islands Mutual Evaluation Report 2019.

The
City of London Police walked delegates through Operation Shaniko, a
recent case study where an organized crime gang in London were jailed
for a total of 23 years for a £1.5 million money laundering fraud.
This particular case study demonstrated a cohesive industry where
private and public sector organizations worked together to tackle
financial crime, something which the Cayman Islands is looking to
further develop in the future. Iain Kenny, Director in Advisory
Services at KPMG, led an informative breakout session, guiding the
group through challenges facing the FCIU and the Cayman Islands’
financial industry when it comes to reporting.

Many
of the delegates were local Anti-Money Laundering Reporting Officers
(AMLROs) and Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs) and they
engaged in lively discussions around the key financial threats for
the region and areas for improvements around managing financial
intelligence.

“I
am delighted and encouraged by the input and engagement of the
participants towards promoting public and private partnerships that
will greatly enhance proactivity towards disrupting malign players
from using Cayman entities” said DCI Barrow.

“KPMG
was delighted to host the two Financial Crime Stakeholder Forums at
our offices alongside the FCIU”, said Brid Verling, Senior Manager
in Advisory Services at KPMG. “The experience and direction from
the City of London Police was extremely insightful, with a detailed
case study showcasing best practice when it comes to combatting
financial crime. The response from delegates was extremely positive
and we are all looking forward to building on and enhancing our
current approach to managing financial crime in Cayman and overseas
in the future.”

As
a result of the forum and other meetings held during their time in
Grand Cayman, The City of London Police will be producing a report to
the Governor with recommendations for enhancements and additional
suggestions to be considered by the FCIU. Some of the recommendations
have come directly from the discussions with delegates at the forums
on the issues they currently face with financial crime investigations
in the Cayman Islands.