ACAMS Cayman Islands Chapter: Insights on FATF mutual evaluations

The ACAMS Cayman Islands Chapter officially launched on October 8, 2025, marking an important milestone for anti-money laundering (AML) compliance professionals across the jurisdiction. As a local chapter of ACAMS, the ACAMS Cayman Islands Chapter is dedicated to raising awareness and promoting best practices in financial crime prevention, ensuring the integrity of the Cayman Islands financial systems while fostering a collaborative and knowledgeable community.

Since its launch, the chapter board has been busy accepting new members and planning chapter events. In just a few short months, the chapter has grown to nearly 200 members, which is a clear demonstration of the Cayman Islands’ strong and engaged compliance community.

In 2027, the Cayman Islands will undergo its periodic mutual evaluation by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and preparations should be in full swing―both by the public sector agencies involved in the efforts but also in the local compliance community. With this in mind, the ACAMS Cayman Islands Chapter was pleased to host two events with guest speaker Rick McDonnell, executive director of ACAMS.

McDonell is a globally respected leader in AML and counter-terrorist financing (CTF). He previously served as executive secretary of FATF from 2007 to 2015. Prior to his tenure at FATF, McDonnell led the United Nations Global Programme against Money Laundering within the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. He is also the founder and first executive secretary of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering. His depth of experience provides unparalleled insight into how jurisdictions can prepare for mutual evaluations and demonstrate real, measurable effectiveness. The ACAMS Cayman Islands Chapter is thrilled that McDonnell shared his experience and expertise with the Cayman Islands compliance community.

The first of the two events was held on March 3, 2026, at Hotel Indigo and was organized alongside local financial services association Cayman Finance. This exclusive session provided insight into the FATF mutual evaluation process to industry members. It was followed by an interactive panel discussion with questions and answers from the audience. The event was sponsored by Rawlinson & Hunter, Simur, Walkers and Dentons.

On March 4, 2026, McDonnell spoke to ACAMS chapter members and guests about mutual evaluations at an event titled “Preparing Today for Tomorrow’s Assessment.” He covered what FATF evaluations entail, the evolution of FATF’s standards and key actions compliance professionals should take as the Cayman Islands prepares for its fifth round of mutual evaluations.

Both sessions were open to ACAMS Cayman Islands Chapter members and nonmembers. However, members received special pricing. ACAMS-certified individuals living in the Cayman Islands are encouraged to become chapter members to benefit from these types of educational and networking opportunities organized by the chapter.

Rick McDonnell, executive director of ACAMS, spoke at both of the March events.

Membership benefits include:

• Access to in-person educational seminars on current topics relevant to the Cayman Islands
• Local networking opportunities with peers, regulators and industry leaders
• Timely updates on global AML/CTF/counter-proliferation financing developments
• Opportunities to contribute to Cayman’s collective compliance readiness

Those wishing to join the ACAMS Cayman Chapter may do so by visiting the ACAMS Cayman Islands Chapter web page: https://www.acams.org/en/chapters/caribbean/cayman-islands-chapter.

Justine Plenkiewicz, CAMS, co-founder, Claritas Compliance, Cayman Islands,
 justine@claritascompliance.com,