Langston R.M. Sibblies, K.C., J.P.
LL.B. Hons./Attorney-at-Law
Notary Public (Cayman Islands)
Mr. Sibblies is a senior Lawyer with an extensive background in advising on financial regulatory laws and on international standards on financial regulation with an emphasis on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorist Financing (CFT). He also has substantial experience in administrative law and significant experience in policy development.
First called to the Bar in 1975 in Jamaica, Mr. Sibblies has practiced law and worked in several jurisdictions, regionally and in Ontario, Canada. He was also called to Bar in Grenada (1983), Ontario, Canada (1990), the British Virgin Islands (1997) and the Cayman Islands (1999) and was later appointed Queen’s Counsel in the Cayman Islands in 2009. Mr. Sibblies holds Cayman Islands status and is a citizen of Jamaica, Canada and the United Kingdom (UK).
He joined the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) in 2000 as its first full-time Legal Adviser and was subsequently appointed General Counsel – Deputy Managing Director in 2008. He retired from that position in 2019. Immediately prior to joining CIMA, Mr. Sibblies served as the Executive Director of the Secretariat in the Cayman Islands Ministry of Finance dealing with various international initiatives impacting the Cayman Islands. In that capacity and subsequently as CIMA’s General Counsel, he represented the Cayman Islands and CIMA in various high-level meetings with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Monetary Fund, Financial Stability Board, International Organization of Securities Commissions, Caribbean Financial Action Task Force and Financial Action Task Force (FATF). He has delivered varying comprehensive papers relating to the regulation of the Cayman Islands financial industry at several local and international fora.
During his tenure with CIMA, Mr. Sibblies was engaged in the negotiation of several memoranda of understandings with leading financial regulators in the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Japan and China, among others. He also served as a member of the Cayman Islands Tax Information Exchange Negotiation Team when he was involved in the negotiation of several Tax Information Exchange Agreements with other countries. In this capacity, he attended meetings of the Global Forum on Tax Transparency in Paris and Mexico on behalf of the Cayman Islands Government.
In addition to his work with the Ministry of Finance and CIMA, Mr. Sibblies also served as a member and Chairman of the Cayman Islands Law Reform Commission (2004 – 2010) and is currently a member of the Cayman Islands Judicial and Legal Services Commission. In his last assignment as an external consultant to CIMA, he assisted in the development of responses as it relates to the financial assessment of the Cayman Islands by the FATF’s International Cooperation Review Group. This assignment ended in late February 2021. Mr. Sibblies also served as Deputy Chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Jamaica. His ten months tenure there ended in July 2022.
Mr. Sibblies is currently the Chairman of the Board of the Cayman Islands Refugee Protection Appeals Tribunal and a member of the Board of Directors of the Cayman Islands National Insurance Company (CINICO). He is listed on the Roster of Short-Term Experts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
Admissions to Practice:
Call to the Inner Bar (Queens Counsel) 2010
Grand Court of the Cayman Islands 1999
High Court of the British Virgin Islands 1997
Supreme Court of Ontario, Canada 1990
High Court of Grenada 1983
Supreme Court of Jamaica 1975
EDUCATION
Bar Admission Course 1989 - 1990
Toronto, Ontario
Osgoode Hall Law School 1978 - 1988
Ontario, Canada
Norman Manley Law School 1973 - 1975
Legal Education Certificate
University of the West Indies/LL.B Hons. 1970 - 1973
Cave Hill, Barbados
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Consultant
Offers consultancy services on financial regulation and compliance. Currently
Career Highlights
Consultant to the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority on AML/CFT 2019 - 2021
General Counsel/Deputy Managing Director, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority 2000 - 2019
Executive Director, Secretariat Portfolio Finance, Cayman Islands Government 1999 - 2000
Barrister and Solicitor, Ontario, Canada 1998
Senior Crown Counsel, Attorney General’s Chambers, British Virgin Islands 1995 - 1997
Barrister and Solicitor, Ontario Canada 1993 - 1995
Policy Counsel, Ministry of the Attorney General, Ontario, Canada 1990 - 1993
Crown Counsel Cayman Islands 1989
Law Editor CCH Canadian Ltd. (Tax and Business Reports) 1986 - 1987
Attorney-At-Law, Jamaica 1983 - 1985 &
Director of Public Prosecution, Grenada 1981 - 1983
Staff Lawyer, Kingston Legal Aid Clinic 1975 - 1976
Other Employment Career Activities
Short-Term Expert Roster Appointee, International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C. 2022 - Present
Deputy Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, Financial Services Commission, Jamaica 2021 - 2022
Commissioner Judicial and Legal Services Commission, Cayman Islands 2017 - Present
Represented the Cayman Islands in the Fourth Round Mutual Evaluation Review by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and the
Represented the Cayman Islands in discussions with the
Represented the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority at Meetings
Represented the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority in discussions
Chairman, Cayman Islands Law Reform Commission 2006 - 2009
Represented the Cayman Islands on the Financial Action TaskForce (FATF) Working Group on the Misuse of Corporate Vehicles December 2005
Law Reform Commissioner, Cayman Islands May 2005
Member of the Unregulated Entities Working Group 2005
Chairman of the Mutual Funds Working Group 2004
Represented the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority in discussions
Represented the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority at the meetings
Represented the Cayman Islands at the Annual Meetings of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) 2000 - 2018
Member of the Financial Secretary’s Advisory Strategy Group 1999 - 2000
Prepared Consultancy Paper for the Department of Justice Canada on Drug Interdiction Initiatives in the Caribbean 1998
Member of the Justice of the Peace Remuneration Commission, Ontario (Prepared Report for Attorney General Ontario) 1993 - 1995
Consultant to the Commission on Systemic Racism in the Ontario
MAJOR CONFERENCES, COURSES AND SEMINARS
FATF Annual Meeting and Plenary, Paris, France
CFATF Annual Meeting and Plenary, Barbados
Caribbean Central America Action Conference October 2016
IDB/OAS, Washington DC (Speaker)
IMF/World Bank Annual Meeting October 2016
Meeting of the Financial Stability Board Regional Consultative
CFATF Annual Meeting and Plenary, Costa Rica
International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Annual Meeting,
Caribbean Commercial Law Conference, Cayman Islands (Speaker) 2006
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Typologies Working Group on Misuse of Corporate Vehicles Meeting, London 2006
Offshore Group of Banking Supervisors, London 2006
FATF Typologies Conference, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 2005
IMF Roundtable on Offshore Financial Centres, Sydney, Australia (Speaker) November 2005
Annual Conference of the Association of American Banking Supervisors, Mexico September 2005
IMF Roundtable on Offshore Financial Centres, Basel Switzerland November 2004
IOSCO Annual Meetings, Tel Aviv, Israel, Cape Town, South Africa, London, UK, Montego Bay, Jamaica 2004 - 2017
Seventh Regional Central Bank Legal Seminar, Aruba 2004
International Regulatory Seminar, Financial Services Authority (FSA), London, UK, December 2003
IMF Roundtable on Offshore Financial Centres, Washington DC USA (Speaker) July 2003
United States Securities and Exchange International Securities
International Symposium on Financial Crime, Cambridge University
Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Plenary and Ministerial Meetings 2000 - 2005
CFATF Annual Meeting 2000 - 2004
Commonwealth Finance Minister Conference, Cayman Islands 2000