Memoranda on Cayman Islands Legal Issues and Structures

The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority has introduced sweeping changes to anti-money laundering audit requirements for investment funds, mandating independent audits of entire compliance programmes by September 2026. This marks a fundamental departure from previous practice where internal AML officers could conduct their own testing, raising critical questions about implementation timelines, qualified auditor availability, and compliance costs for funds operating in the jurisdiction.

On January 2, 1997 The Cayman Islands Stock Exchange (CSX) became part of the vast network of financial services offered by the Cayman Islands.

A recent change to the Immigration Law has resulted in a significant increase in the qualifying sums for persons seeking to make an application to the Cayman Islands Government for permanent residence by independent means.

Private equity funds have been capturing the attention of investors and the press in the past few years for a number of reasons. Their performance has typically outstripped the equity markets and other alternative investment strategies.

The absence of any local corporate and individual taxes on the sale of real estate in the Cayman Islands is one of the major attractions for both onshore and offshore investors of real estate in the Cayman Islands.

A number of Section 238 cases are continuing to work their way through the courts.

The long awaited portfolio insurance company legislation is now in force

On 22 December 2011, the Cayman Islands introduced legislation to widen the range of master funds that are required to register with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority ("CIMA").

DMS Executive Director Kathleen Celoria discusses Cayman Islands as the domicile of choice for US Managers looking to invest offshore and the rising costs of compliance.

The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority ("CIMA") has issued the fourth edition of its Supervisory Issues and Information Circular (the "Circular").

CIMA’s new AML / CFT / CPF Compliance Rule and Sanctions Rule, effective 18 September 2026, introduce binding compliance, governance, risk management and sanctions screening requirements for all regulated financial service providers in the Cayman Islands.

Most often, businesses gravitate towards the LTD model due to its familiarity and simplicity. However, DACs and Irish Collective Asset Management Vehicles...

Our corporate team were happy to advise AMCS on their latest acquisition as the business continues to grow their international footprint and scale.

On 24 July 2026, China's Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration jointly issued the Announcement on Individual Income Tax Matters Relating to Offshore Trusts (《财政部 税务总局关于离岸信托个人所 得税有关事项的公告》) (Announcement No. 21 of 2026) (the "Notice"), together with a companion Announcement of the State Taxation Administration on Collection and Administration Matters Relating to Individual Income Tax on Offshore Trusts...

The Cyber Resilience Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/2847)1 (“CRA”) establishes horizontal cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements (“PDEs”) placed on the European Union (“EU”) market. Reporting obligations took effect on 11 September 2026, with full application of the CRA from 11 December 2027.

An overview of the Cayman Islands fund finance market, highlighting H1 2026 trends, data and outlook, including transaction activity, subscription line and NAV facility developments, financing terms, pricing trends and market expectations for the second half of 2026.

An overview of the European fund finance market, highlighting H1 2026 trends, data and outlook, including transaction volumes, jurisdictional preferences and emerging financing trends. This forms part of the August 2026 Edition of FUNDed

The BVI’s April 2026 update to its CRS Guidance Notes advances the implementation of CRS 2.0, expanding the scope of reportable accounts and introducing new compliance and reporting obligations ahead of the first reporting deadline on 31 May 2027.

On 17 June 2026, the Department for International Tax Cooperation (“DITC”), on behalf of the Tax Information Authority (the “TIA”)...