CAYMAN ISLANDS – NEW DISCLOSURE

Offshore financial centre the Cayman Islands, long famed for its secrecy, is reportedly planning to open thousands of companies and hedge funds domiciled there to increased scrutiny.

According to an article published in the Financial Times, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, the island’s primary financial regulator, has sent proposals to hedge funds based in the jurisdiction outlining plans to create a public database of funds domiciled there for the first time.

The FT, which had seen a copy of the proposals, reported that the new database will also list fund’s directors. The paper added that the proposals are pending an ongoing consultation process due to close in mid-March.

In an extract from one of the documents seen by the FT, the CIMA is reported to have said: “In the 24 months subsequent to the onset of the financial crisis, the BVI Financial Services Commission, the Central Bank of Ireland, the Jersey Financial Services Commission, the Bahamas Financial Services Board and the Isle of Man Supervision Commission all updated their corporate governance codes, laws and/or regulations.”