Premier pats financial services minister on back

| 14/10/2014 | 0 Comments
CNS Business

Minister of Financial Services, Commerce and Environment

(CNS): The Cayman Islands premier was singing the praises of his long-time friend and Cabinet colleague last week when he singled out the financial services minister for a pat on the back over his handling of the latest slight over Cayman’s offshore sector. Alden McLaughlin said that Cayman had once again been forced to defend its Financial Services Industry. He singled out Wayne Panton and his ministry team, led by Chief Officer Dax Basdeo, for being “decisive, focused and unflinching in standing up for the Cayman Islands” in the face of the jurisdiction’s placement on a black list by the UK’s financial conduct authority earlier this year.

Speaking at the Chamber’s Legislative Lunch last week, he said, “You don’t have to pound your chest or sing your own praises to get your point across and Minister Panton demonstrated this at the highest professional level.”

McLaughlin explained how Cayman had found itself on a list of high-risk countries produced by the Financial Conduct Authority in London.

“We knew when we saw the list that they had made a grave mistake,” he told the audience of politicians and business leaders. “Through a series of diplomatic exchanges we learnt that the list was indeed incorrect. It has now been removed and the FCA has committed to a full review. The Progressives-led Government will do everything in its power to ensure our good reputation is safeguarded and our positive story is told,” the premier added.

The list was compiled by the FCA based on what the watchdog said was the level of risk jurisdictions pose to financial crime objectives such as tackling money laundering, sanctions systems and controls, terrorist financing, and bribery and corruption. Although the list was removed in early September, experts from the financial sector have suggested that the impact and damage to the country’s reputation and offshore sector of such a negative listing is hard to quantify.

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Category: Finance, Financial Services

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