Cayman Islands Govenment - Portfolio of Legal Affairs. Financial Reporting Authority : About the FRA

About the Financial Reporting Authority

The FRA has evolved over the years. It began as the Financial Investigation Unit in the early 1980s, operating within police headquarters. In 2000 it underwent a name change to become the Financial Reporting Unit (FRU), with the head of unit becoming a civilian post and there being an appointed legal advisor. Line management for operational work was undertaken by the office of the Attorney General. Throughout this period, the role of the unit was to receive, analyse and investigate SARs, in addition to gathering evidence to support prosecutions.

In January 2004, with the introduction of the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct Law (PCCL), the FRU became the Financial Reporting Authority (FRA). The PCCL mandated that the FRA become a full-fledged civilian body and that its function change from being an investigative to an analytical type FIU. Accordingly its mandate was restricted to the receipt and analysis of financial information coupled with the ability to disseminate this intelligence to agencies, where authorised to do so by the PCCL. The FRA’s existence and independence were further enshrined in the PCL, which repealed and replaced the PCCL and came into force on 30^th September 2008.

Targeted Financial Sanctions

During the 2016/2017 Financial Year, the FRA assumed responsibility for ensuring the implementation of targeted financial sanctions with respect to terrorism, terrorism financing, proliferation, proliferation financing, and other restrictive measures related to anti-money laundering (AML) and combatting the financing of terrorism (CFT) and proliferation (CFP) from and within the Cayman Islands.

The post of a Sanctions Coordinator (SC) within the FRA was created and filled during the Financial Year. The SC is responsible for coordinating the implementation of targeted financial sanctions. The SC will take a holistic approach to ensuring compliance with the sanctions regime, to cover the whole lifecycle of compliance. For example: promote compliance by publishing financial sanctions and engaging with the private sector, and enabling compliance by providing guidance and alerts to help them discharge their own compliance responsibilities. The SC also performs a central and proactive role in identifying potential persons for designation, assessing whether they meet the designation criteria and seeking the necessary approvals to make a recommendation to the Governor for consideration for the person to be designated.

In December 2017, the FRA issued the following Industry Guidance to assist relevant institutions in complying with their obligations regarding targeted financial sanctions relating to the prevention and suppression of terrorism and terrorist financing, and the prevention, suppression and disruption of proliferation of weapons of mass destructions and it’s financing: