Crypto and the Cayman Islands

The Pirates of the Caribbean movies portrayed the region as a haven for rogue sailors and pirates in the 18th century. More recently it has been seen as a luxury hideaway for the Jet-Set and their money - as told in many novels by the likes of John Grisham. But is this reputation accurate or fair? Elisabeth Lees co-founded Claritas Legal and previously spent over a decade as an in-house lawyer for the Cayman Islands government. She spoke to Collared about the country's ongoing compliance architecture overhaul and its efforts to balance regulation and reputation.Cryptocurrencies have suffered from a similar bad rep. For some it’s digital gold with the promise of huge returns. For others, it is the perfect vehicle for moving, hiding and laundering illegal proceeds from everything including scams, frauds, drugs, human trafficking and terrorist financing…The challenge for regulators is how to oversee a financial system that is opaque and anonymous by nature. AML Intelligence's EU correspondent Carlo Boffa talks to us about the increasingly divergent approaches to digital currency regulation on both sides of the Atlantic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.