Key Lessons from the Cayman FATF Delisting Journey

Welcome to the Comply and Outperform webinar series, where we explore the challenges, opportunities, and innovations shaping the AML and KYC landscape.

Host Stephen Platt is joined by Elizabeth Lease, Barrister and Head of Regulatory Law at Claritas (Cayman Islands). From 2019, Elizabeth served as the National Coordinator for the Cayman Islands Anti Money Laundering Steering Group, leading the nation's response to the FATF's Fourth Round Mutual Evaluation.

Under her leadership, the Cayman Islands achieved technical compliance with all 40 FATF Recommendations and was successfully removed from the FATF Grey List—a major global AML success story.

In this must-watch interview, Elizabeth breaks down the strategic challenges of national remediation:

The Observation Period: Dealing with 63 recommended actions and fighting "blind" to address strategic deficiencies.

The Biggest Hurdles: Why the final three actions—related to enforcement, beneficial ownership compliance, and money laundering prosecutions—were the hardest to meet.

Strategic Planning: How to coordinate efforts across government agencies, regulators, and industry (the "six-dimensional chess").

The Supervision of Lawyers: The huge effort involved in bringing the DNFBP sector into the regulatory net and overcoming industry pushback through extensive outreach.

Consequences of Grey Listing: Assessing the reputational and financial impact and mitigating risk to correspondent banking relationships.

Effectiveness vs. Compliance: Why the FATF's focus on "positive and tangible progress" requires granular outcomes, statistics, and case examples, not just paper reforms.

Learn the blueprint for national AML success from a key figure in global financial crime remediation.

Learn more: https://kyc360.com/