On June 17, Minister of State for the Abroad Territories Stephen Doughty met with Cayman Islands Premier André Ebanks in London to debate key areas of collaboration and UK help for the Cayman Islands Authorities’s priorities following their recent elections.
Their wide-ranging talks lined surroundings, safety, monetary companies, and sanctions. Minister Doughty praised the Cayman Islands’ dedication to preserving its pristine marine surroundings and expressed gratitude for Cayman’s help to different Abroad Territories throughout crises, most lately in Anguilla. Each governments reaffirmed their partnership on environmental safety initiatives, together with the UK-funded Darwin Initiative and the Blue Belt Programme.
The 2 leaders additionally emphasised their shared dedication to tackling illicit finance and sanctions evasion. Minister Doughty acknowledged the Cayman Islands as a world chief in “prime quality, trendy and resilient monetary companies,” highlighting Cayman’s pivotal function in implementing UK sanctions, together with the freezing of over $9 billion in Russia-linked belongings.
Minister Doughty welcomed Cayman’s steps to extend company transparency, notably the launch in February 2025 of a helpful possession register accessible to people with official curiosity, corresponding to accredited journalists, researchers, and sure civil society members. He additionally applauded Premier Ebanks’ pledge to reinforce the register additional by streamlining processes for a number of search requests and reviewing related charges.
Each leaders agreed to advance cooperation via reciprocal info sharing amongst competent authorities, together with regulation enforcement, with plans to evaluation these modifications within the coming weeks. This aligns with parameters for helpful possession registers agreed upon between Abroad Territory leaders and the UK Authorities on the Joint Ministerial Council in November 2024.
Premier Ebanks and Minister Doughty expressed their need to deepen the fashionable UK-Cayman Islands partnership and appeared ahead to Minister Doughty’s go to to the Cayman Islands scheduled for September 2025. Minister Doughty reaffirmed the UK authorities’s agency dedication to the sovereignty, safety, and defence of the Abroad Territories.
