The Financial Investigation Agency received 235 suspicious-activity reports in 2014, according to its annual report for that year, which was tabled last month in the House of Assembly.
That continues an upward trend that started in 2013, when the number of suspicious-activity reports increased to 235 from 135 and 153 in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
Fifty-eight of the 2014 reports had to do with suspected fraud, with others informing the FIA of suspected activities such as money laundering (38), “unusual transactions” (21), theft (10), tax evasion (10) and other nefarious activity, according to the annual report.
The FIA also received 575 “requests for information” in 2014, which was a 17 percent increase from the previous year.
The report noted that the agency had challenges in facilitating the volume of requests because “a very small number” of trust firms and company service providers failed to provide the agency with requested information in a timely matter.
That challenge has continued: FIA Director Errol George stated earlier this year that his agency has experienced delays in processing information requests, according to the 2016 report on the deliberations of the Standing Finance Committee.
To address these delays, the FIA proposed in its 2014 report that the Virgin Islands require registered agents to hold the beneficial ownership information of their clients within the territory.
That solution is currently being implemented: The House of Assembly passed legislation in late 2015 requiring registered agents to take this step, and the deadline to comply is the end of this year.
See the Oct. 6, 2016 edition for full coverage.
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