Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Marlon Penn, is calling for the Premier of the Virgin Islands to explain the contents of the Public Register Agreement with the United Kingdom Government, to the people of the Virgin Islands.
On Tuesday 22nd September, in a government press release, it was reported that the Premier of the Virgin Islands has reiterated his support of the Government to work alongside the U.K Government to implement a publicly accessible register with certain restrictions.
It said “Premier and Minister of Finance of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Honourable Andrew A. Fahie, has reiterated the support of the Territory’s Government for working with the United Kingdom Government towards implementation of a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership for companies, “in line with international standards and best practices as they develop globally,” with certain reservations.”
UK Minister for O.T’s expresses approval
Baronness Elizabeth Sugg, Minister for Overseas Territories and Sustainable Development, also expressed her approval with the agreement in a Twitter post which stated “Great News that the BVI Government has announced it will join all other Overseas Territories by committing to adopt publicly accessible registers of business owners by 2023. This is a strong signal of the UK family’s commitment to tackle the global problem of illicit finance.”
Premier said we are not implementing a “Public Register” but is imposing a “Public Accessible Register”
In the House of Assembly, Premier Fahie explained that the Government will not be implementing a “Public Register” but instead is moving in the direction of imposing a “Public Accessible Register”
The Premier explained that he has written to the U.K Government suggesting that there are alternative models that allow access to the various levels of data that would be contained in a register, which models contain built-in safeguards such as the use of warrants approved by the court based on the demonstration of probable cause to grant access to sensitive personal information.
Premier Fahie said “These pose significantly less risk to the financial services industry while satisfying the objectives of law enforcement to identify and prosecute terrorists, tax evaders and money launderers, while not disproportionately infringing on the rights of the innocent and law abiding. It is the BVI’s submission that such models are worth exploring in the meantime”
Leader of the Opposition asks for answers
Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Marlon Penn said that the Premier is suggesting that what he has signed on to is something different from the Beneficial Ownership and Public Register situations which was previously discussed.
Hon. Marlon Penn further stated “If that is the case, the people of the Territory need to clearly understand.”
Hon. Penn is calling for Premier to explain to the People of the Territory: What was the commitment made to the United Kingdom? How does it impact the industry overall? What is the overall position of the Industry on this decision? How does this impact our economy, when Financial Services has already seen declines in revenue?