Editorial
Negotiating in Cayman's BestInterest
It is now public knowledge that the Governmentnegotiating team is once again in talks with the Financial ActionTask Force (FATF), the policy-making arm of the OECD, which developsand promotes policies to combat money laundering.
It was that body, which last June blacklisted the Cayman Islandsas one of 15 "non-cooperative" territories in the fightagainst money laundering.
Its actions precipitated a rash of new legislation locally, includingprovisions for the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority to obtaininformation and share it under specific conditions with its regulators.
Three members of the team have been part of the original delegationthat represented Cayman's interest to the FATF, and as such, shouldbe quite familiar, not only with the FATF's perspective on moneylaundering regualtions as well as the negotiating style of itsrepresentatives.
In the wake of the Cayman's legislative action to conform to theFATF's criteria for assessing money laundering, and to reverseits blacklisted position, there has been public uneasiness insome quarters about how far the territory will bow to internationalpressure, perhaps to the detriment of its position as a successfuloffshore financial centre.
The Financial Secretary is on record as assuring the Caymanianpeople that the country's response to the OECD and FATF have allbeen in keeping with its commitment to global financial standardsand transparency, in the interest of ensuring a sustainable, successfuleconomy.
Given the public debate raised in the media and elsewhere, overthe period of the negotiations, it is to be expected that thistime around, the negotiating team will be far more attuned andsensitive to the wishes of the Caymanian people and certainlymore savvy in the way these are presented in the internationalforum. The new Government has promised to keep the people fullyapprised of its progress in such matters, and to be transparentin its governance.
In some quarters, it is not unusual, at such high levels of negotiation-- especially where one party becomes vulnerable to the machinationsof the more powerful that the services of professional,hard-nosed, experienced negotiators or lobbyists are sought.
Whereas protocol may dictate that members of the Government functionas the country's representatives and negotiators, nevertheless,it should not be too much to expect that they tap into all availableexpertise to make a strong and clear case for the protection ofthe country's interest.
Certainly, outside of the Government, there are Caymanians andpersons resident here, whose experience and expertise could beuseful to the Government's representation to the FATF, in mattersconcerning the islands financial industry.
Drawing upon such resources would not only serve to strengthenthe Government's position, but would also signify its willingnessto take a consultative approach with the people, on whose behalfthey govern.
In that way, dealing with critical and sensitive issues with theFATF could be a less onerous task, viewed with fear and mistrustby the public.
It becomes instead a matter of common problems and shared triumphs.