The Cayman Islands MonetaryAuthority (CIMA) has issued new regulatory procedures for Cayman Islands open-ended funds regulated under the Mutual Funds Act (Revised) (mutual funds) and for closed-ended funds registered under the Private Funds Act (Revised) (private funds) regarding their deregistration with CIMA, either at the end of the life of the fund or in certain limited circumstances where their regulatory status has changed.
The principal changes in the new deregistration procedures relate to the timing of the deregistration process and the elimination of the option to place a fund in "licence under termination" (LUT) or "licence under liquidation" (LUL) status with CIMA.
Under the prior deregistration procedure, a fund could be placed in LUT or LUL once it had determined to cease trading or to liquidate but before it had completed its final distributions and filed its final audit. Provided that this was done on or before 31 December in any year, the fund would benefit from either a reduction in, or complete waiver of, the CIMA annual fund registration fees for the following year. The fund would then have a prescribed period of time to complete its audit and file its deregistration documents.
Under the new deregistration procedures, although CIMA should be notified of a fund's intention to deregister within 21 days of that determination, the fund must complete and file its final audit (or seek and be granted an audit waiver from CIMA), and be in good standing, before the deregistration documents may be filed. Provided that the deregistration documents are complete and in good order, it is anticipated that the deregistration processing and approval will be a relatively quick and straightforward procedure.
Following their publication on 17 August 2022, the new deregistration procedures will apply to any new deregistration applications with effect from that date. CIMA has confirmed, however, that any funds that had previously submitted LUT or LUL applications under the old procedures will still be able to take advantage of the fee concessions under those procedures, provided that they meet the filing requirements associated with their LUT or LUL status.
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