In December 2020, UK’s authorities released new regulations, which, as they assure, are intended to enhance transparency in every jurisdiction. In this respect, the Prime Minister –and also Minister of Finance– of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Mr. Andrew A. Fahie, expressed his concerns regarding the document published and warned that the project might “imply a threat to the privacy” that is guaranteed in the BVI’s Constitution.
In Fahie’s opinion, this decision by the British government “rules the creation of records with public access” that will enable “the general public the liberty to access a variety of data of a nature that is both personal and private.” Despite the local government’s guarantee that it maintains its commitment to cooperation with international organizations in the prevention of financial crimes, it also assured that the current regulation of financial services in the Islands is compliant with the best global practices; and that the Higher Court of the BVI will be in charge of taking the rules imparted by Great Britain into consideration.
We are pleased to see that beyond global trends, which have become stronger as a result of the pandemic and the election of Biden as the President of the USA, the BVI has strengthened its lead role in what concerns the protection of the privacy of individuals, becoming a model for the rest of the offshore industry.
