Financial Industry Regulation Book Launch Bring Out Dignitaries

By Stuart Wilson

A who’s, who of the Cayman Islands legal industry and political arenas gathered for a special reception held at the Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort on 7th August to mark the launch of a new book authored by Mr. Langston R M Sibblies, KC, JP, entitled: “The Regulation of the Financial Industry in the Cayman Islands From Offshore Financial Centre to International Financial Centre”.

The book offers a chronological overview and an in depth look at the milestones along Cayman’s financial regulatory trajectory and the Islands’ meteoric rise from ‘the Islands time forgot’ to one of the financial meccas of the modern world.

Attendees heard from speakers who came to pay homage to Mr. Sibblies’ and his first person rendition of the development of framework of Cayman’s regulatory financial environment and its soundness, which has often been mischaracterized by the misguided notion of the Territory operating outside the bounds of international protocol.

Remarks on the evening included those from former Chief Justice of the Cayman Islands Sir Anthony Smellie, who told the audience  that the book dispels the lingering myth of the Cayman Islands being a rogue financial centre and outlines the similarities that exist between the Islands and the world’s major financial centres, relating to the regulatory environment.

“It is not simply an academic undertaking but very much a lived experience,” noted Sir Smellie, who lauded the book as the only publication that gives an accurate and fitting rendition of the reality of Cayman’s stringent financial regulatory regime and how it came to be.

The former Chief Justice recalled Cayman’s early engagements with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Countries in 1998 and the cold reception Cayman’s delegation received, as it seemed the minds of the international community had already been decided that Cayman was non-compliant.

The draft of the legislation during those discussions was formulated by Mr. Sibblies and despite the tenor of the initial meetings, the Cayman delegation, which included, the Honourable Truman Bodden, who was then the Leader of Government Business, succeeded in staving off being blacklisted at the time.

Former Cayman Islands Financial Secretary, the Honourable George McCarthy told the audience that the title of the book was ‘most appropriate and aptly reflects our journey’.

He said all who read the work will observe the careful research that went into it, its accuracy, how well it is written and how informative and interesting it is.

“It gives a full scope of the rationale behind each piece of legislation; from the Companies Act 1961 to the Banks and Trust Companies Act and the 5 pieces of legislation that are considered the pillars of our financial industry, including the Confidential Disclosure Law 2016.

Mr. McCarthy praised the many agencies in the Cayman Islands what work together to make sure monies are “…identifiable at source”.

“Persons looking for loopholes should know that bypassing Cayman is the best option”, he remarked, adding that the reasons persons should avail themselves of the book included:

1. It being a life long effort Mr. Sibblies and fulfillment of a dream.

2. Through the writing of the book, Mr. Sibblies shared his knowledge and expertise and so it is an opportunity for the reader to become more educated and inspired.

3. The work created a wonderful legacy.

4. The book should be placed in schools and public libraries, alongside books from Mr. Roy Bodden (also in attendance), the late Sir Vassel Johnson and Mr. Lemuel Hurlston.

5. It shows how the Cayman Islands have transitioned from the Islands time forgot to a cutting edge financial centre.

During remarks from Mr. Sibblies, he reiterated the poignant points of the book and thanked all who came out to support the occasion.

He acknowledged that the duty of telling the story of how Cayman has evolved over the years was one that was of great importance and noted that service in this regard was a great privilege.