Premier André Ebanks left London this week feeling confident that Cayman – and, in particular, its critical financial services industry – is in good standing with the UK government.
Ebanks, on his first official visit as leader of the country, met with senior government officials, including UK Minister of State for the Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty.
Despite a continuing clamour for increased transparency from offshore financial centres among certain British political and media factions, the premier believes the upper echelons of the UK government understand and appreciate the reforms Cayman has made.
He said his discussions with Doughty over Cayman’s beneficial ownership regime had been a “meeting of minds”.
Both men face competing pressures on the issue.
Industry figureheads within Cayman have suggested government may have gone too far in opening up information about the true owners of island-based corporations to journalists and academics.
Meanwhile some advocates in the UK continue to call for fully open registers which the public can access without ‘legitimate interest’ filters.
Ebanks said, “Although there might be others on both sides of the spectrum – whether they be industry, who would prefer not to take a step forward – or on other side, those who want to go completely open … I had a meeting of the minds [with Doughty] that this was a good advancement that was constitutionally sound and that Cayman is leading in this space.”
A joint statement from Doughty and premier Ebanks following the 17 June meeting at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office hit some of the same talking points.
“Minister Doughty welcomed the important steps taken by the Cayman Islands to promote greater corporate transparency, including launching a register of beneficial ownership information in February 2025 accessible to those with legitimate interest such as accredited journalists, academic researchers, and members of certain civil society organisations,” the statement indicates.
“Minister Doughty also welcomed Premier Ebanks’ commitment to make further enhancements to their beneficial ownership register – on a legitimate interest basis – with more streamlined processes for multiple search requests, including on fees. They agreed to continue work to enhance greater cooperation through reciprocal information sharing by competent authorities (including law enforcement).”
Ebanks, speaking to the Compass on Thursday, characterised those enhancements as fine-tuning rather than any policy shift.
He said conversations over the new legislation had focused on the detail and he had offered reassurances, for instance, that accessing information would not be prohibitively expensive.
Educating Cayman’s critics
On a trip where he also met with representatives of Transparency International – a recent critic of Cayman’s reforms – Ebanks said he was continuing his policy of tackling misconceptions about the industry and the islands head-on.
Ebanks said, “I think it’s our job to educate and equip people who may have different views. We have to be proactive and educate others where facts need to be clarified.”
He said the meeting had gone well and they now have a “deeper understanding of our anti-money laundering framework”.
Ebanks also met with TheCityUK, London’s equivalent of Cayman Finance, to discuss areas of shared interest.
Environmental research grants
Outside of financial services, discussions with Doughty also focused on UK funding initiatives such as DarwinPlus and Blue Belt – vital income streams for some of Cayman’s key environmental research and protection initiatives. He said there could be no guarantees as the UK goes through its budget process but he had received a “strong indication” that the Labour government would seek to ensure the funding – impacted by Britain’s split from the European Union – would continue.
The joint statement from the two men also highlighted this aim as well as plans for Doughty to visit Cayman in September.
The premier also met with other UK government and opposition figures including Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsey Hoyle; Minister for Nature Mary Creagh; Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel; MP Sir Andrew Mitchell; and the new chair of the Cayman Islands All-Party Parliamentary Group Sarah Champion.
Prior to the London meetings Ebanks joined Attorney General Samuel Bulgin, and a Cayman Islands delegation at the Financial Action Task Force Plenary in Strasbourg, France, from 12-13 June. Following the Plenary, the premier participated on a FATF Technical Assistance Peer Exchange panel on 14 June.
