The statutory deadline for filing CRS and US FATCA reports for the 2017 year of account was 31 May 2018. Notwithstanding this statutory deadline, the Department for International Tax Cooperation (the “DITC”) has issued an industry advisory confirming that completion of 2017 CRS and US FATCA reporting obligations on or before 31 July 2018 will not result in compliance measures being taken for late filing, and will not therefore attract adverse consequences, enforcement measures or penalties.

As a reminder, we have recently issued a variety of updates and alerts highlighting some of the key regulatory changes here in the Cayman Islands. A number of these regulatory updates have significant penalties for non-compliance and the compliance deadlines are fast approaching. If you haven’t already taken steps to comply with these regulatory changes we recommend that you do so as a matter of priority.

In the recent decision of Aurora Funds Management Limited et al -v- Torchlight GP Limited the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal brought in respect of an order made by McMillan J in the Grand Court validating certain payments made by Torchlight GP Limited (the “General Partner”) in accordance with Section 99 of the Companies Law. Click here for more

Further to Alert issued in January 2018 the Tax Information Authority of the Cayman Islands (“TIA”) has now issued Guidance in respect of the Country-by-Country Reporting requirements (“CbCR”).1 CbCR requires every entity that is “resident in the Islands”2 to determine whether or not it is a constituent entity (“CE”) of a multinational enterprise (“MNE”) and to notify the TIA of the name and jurisdiction of the MNE group’s (“MNE Grou

On 23 April 2018, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (“CIMA”) released a public advisory on virtual currencies to warn of the risks associated with investments in initial coin offerings (“ICOs”) and virtual currencies and which set out some of the red flags potential investors should look out for to help identify potentially fraudulent ICOs. Click here for more.

Further to our updates issued in October 2017 and February 2018, the Cayman Islands has updated and consolidated a number of its laws on the prevention of money laundering (“AML”) and the countering of terrorist financing (“CTF”). The current Cayman Islands AML/ CTF legislative regime includes, amongst other things, the Proceeds of Crime Law (2018 Revision), the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (2018 Revision) (“AML Regulations”), and the December 2017 Guidance Notes on the Prevention and Detection of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in the Cayman Islands (the “Guidance Notes”).

Since our Cayman Islands Beneficial Ownership Regime Alert in May 2017, the Cayman Islands Government has amended the beneficial ownership regime under the Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Law, 2017 and the Limited Liability Companies (Amendment) (No.3) Law, 20171 and has issued further regulations under The Beneficial Ownership (Companies) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 and The Beneficial Ownership (Limited Liability Companies) (Amendment) Regulations, 20182 (together the "Amending Laws").

A well-known and now widely used part of local legislation, Section 238(8) of the Cayman Islands Companies Law (the “Companies Law”), entitles a shareholder who dissents from a merger or consolidation of a Cayman company under the statutory merger provisions contained in Part XVI of the Companies Law to be paid “the fair value of his shares”.

Conyers Dill & Pearman is pleased to announce the appointment of Derek Stenson as a Partner in the Cayman Islands Corporate practice. Derek has particular expertise in insurance, reinsurance and structured products. He brings with him a wealth of experience and in-depth knowledge in those areas, which complements and enhances the firm’s offering. Click here for more.

The Department of International Tax Cooperation ("DITC") has issued an industry advisory confirming that the Automatic Exchange of Information Portal ("AEOI Portal") has reopened with revised documentation. AEOI Portal Open with New User Guide The Cayman Islands AEOI Portal is now open for FATCA and CRS notifications and reporting. The regulatory deadlines are:

• 30 April 2018 for notifications (i.e.