Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley has hit back against claims that he says unfairly portray the Virgin Islands as a “rogue state” when it comes to fighting financial crime.
Mr. Wheatley issued the response last week after British parliamentarians questioned his plan to restrict public access to an expanded beneficial-ownership register set to be in place by the end of June.
Only people with a “legitimate interest” will be able to view information in the register, according to a draft proposal the VI government has been circulating as part of public consultations on the issue.
But that plan reportedly earned the premier a letter of rebuke from a group of UK parliamentarians who have claimed that unrestricted public access is needed to discourage money laundering and other financial crime.
Among the signatories was Tory former deputy foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell, who said the VI’s draft policy shows “total contempt for the British Parliament’s declared insistence that open registers of beneficial ownership be implemented” in the overseas territories, according to The Guardian newspaper.
The day after the Guardian report, the premier issued a sharply worded statement.
“The BVI government strongly refutes the recent allegations made against it as part of a series of misinformed, misleading and malicious attacks,” the premier said on Feb. 5.
“These have sought to portray the territory as a rogue state; an outlier happy to facilitate corruption with a total disregard for global standards, robust regulation and the principles of transparency and collaboration.”
Stating that this portrayal “could not be further from the truth,” the premier insisted that the VI has a strong record on transparency.
“As a leader in company regulation, the British Virgin Islands is a strong partner of the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions in the global fight against financial crime and ongoing international efforts to uphold the integrity of the world economy and global financial system,” he said.
Mr. Wheatley added that critics have been trying to “pressure” the UK into taking “colonial” action against the VI.
“The coordinated attack on the jurisdiction serves to mislead the public and pressure the UK government to take colonial measures against the territory,” the premier said.
Global standards
He added that the territory had been active in fighting money crime for more than 40 years and had a track record of “exceeding” international standards.
He also touted the territory’s existing company-ownership register, which is currently closed to the public but open to law enforcers on request.
“The government has invested millions of dollars and additional resources in developing a market-leading beneficial-ownership platform that is available to law enforcement and tax authorities globally, providing rapid access to company ownership information on suspected criminals, supported by new legislation and a new regulatory regime,” he said.
The premier added that the territory’s existing regime already compares favorably to the ownership-register system based in Companies House in London, which is open to the public.
“[The VI’s] level of oversight is far stricter than UK Companies House, which requires absolutely no verification of beneficial owners or due diligence on company formations despite being home to 4.3 million businesses,” Mr. Wheatley said.
He added that the VI’s plan to limit access to its ownership register is in line with plans in other overseas territories.
“Following the conclusion of our ongoing public consultation, legitimate-interest filters will provide another important step in the fight against illicit finance, an approach in line with that taken by other overseas territories and one we have consistently communicated to the UK government,” he said.
All-party group
Other UK parliamentarians who signed the letter to the premier included Labour Party politician Joe Powell, who jointly chairs the all-party parliamentary group on anti-corruption and responsible tax with Mr. Mitchell, according to The Guardian.
The newspaper also reported that Mr. Mitchell had accused the VI of misleading the UK.
“Having led officials at the Foreign Office to believe they needed more time to implement open registers, we now see their intentions were very different,” he reportedly said. “This is nothing other than a shameful bid to continue to manage stolen funds and assist in money laundering from sources close to the sex trade and the drugs trade.”