Cayman Islands industry welcomes removal from EU ‘Blacklist’

On 6 October 2020 the EU officially removed the Cayman Islands from their list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.

The removal was welcome news for Government, the Private Sector and industry associations who have worked together, in consultation with the EU, to pass numerous pieces of legislation over the past two years to enhance Cayman’s regulatory regime.

The EU’s decision to remove Cayman from the list occurred following the EU Member States finance ministers’ (Ecofin) first meeting since the decision on 18 February 2020 to add Cayman to the list, which highlights the significant efforts made by Cayman over the past few months.

The amendments to the Mutual Funds Law and the new Private Funds Law enacted earlier this year, which saw over 12,000 private funds register with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority for the first time, were critical components in the EU decision. In its press release, the EU noted that, “[the] Cayman Islands was removed from the EU list after it adopted new reforms to its framework on Collective Investment Funds.”

The removal is an acknowledgment from the EU that Cayman Islands’ regulatory regimes are fully in line with international standards.

On continued collaboration with the EU, Premier Alden McLaughlin commented: “We will continue collaborating with the EU, including through broadening our dialogue to topics of mutual interest. These include green financing and key topics outside of financial services, such as environmental matters and tourism.”

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