"The light that comes from wisdom never goes out"
Last Thursday during a back- bench business debate in the United Kingdom House of Commons, some UK parliamentarians criticised overseas territories for not establishing public registers of beneficial ownership this …
Continue reading “Virgin Islands pushes back after company register criticism”
Amanda Milling, the United Kingdom minister responsible for the overseas territories, visited the Virgin Islands this week to discuss topics including Russia sanctions, other diplomatic affairs and public company registers. …
The United States Congress followed the lead of the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries last month in taking aim at anonymous companies used to enable tax abuse, …
The Virgin Islands government has “significant reservations” about a draft order in council on public registers of beneficial ownership, according to Premier Andrew Fahie. The draft, which was published on …
Continue reading “UK publishes draft order for public registers”
BVI Finance has praised a British think tank’s new paper about public registers of beneficial ownership, a topic which has put the Virgin Islands and other overseas territories at odds …
Due to the territory’s Beneficial Ownership Secure Search system, the Virgin Islands is better prepared than most other jurisdictions to respond to the types of suspicious activity reports leaked in …
Premier Andrew Fahie appears to have softened his government’s stance on the United Kingdom’s push for the overseas territories to enact public registers of beneficial owner- ship by 2023. For …
Continue reading “Premier softens position on public registers”
The United Kingdom government singled out the Virgin Islands last week as the sole holdout among the inhabited UK overseas territories and Crown dependencies that has not committed to introducing …
Echoing a push in the United Kingdom and its territories toward greater corporate transparency, the United States House of Representatives last week passed a bipartisan bill requiring companies to disclose …
Continue reading “US moves toward registers of beneficial ownership”
Both United Kingdom and United States law enforcement agencies have praised the overseas territories’ systems for exchanging beneficial ownership information, with UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid calling them “extremely useful” …
Continue reading “BOSSS system praised by United Kingdom, United States”
Facing increasing pressure from members of the United Kingdom Parliament, the Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man jointly announced last week what they called “a series …
The Virgin Islands and other British overseas territories learned recently that they will not be required to implement fully functioning public registers of beneficial ownership until 2023 — a reprieve …
Continue reading “Public registers requirement will wait until 2023”
Brexit was at the top of the agenda when Premier Dr. Orlando Smith and other overseas territory leaders met with United Kingdom officials during the 20th Joint Ministerial Council last …
Continue reading “Amid Brexit turmoil, UK reassures overseas territories”
United Kingdom Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered the UK’s autumn budget to Parliament last week, touching on several points designed to further regulate offshore finance. One of the budget’s initiatives is …
Continue reading “United Kingdom to update ‘offshore compliance strategy’”
This article originally appeared in the Beacon’s Sept. 6 “Irma Anniversary” edition. Like many people throughout the Virgin Islands, Courdney Williams has a very different daily routine than he did 12 months …
Continue reading “Virgin Islands economy takes new shapes after Irma”
More than a dozen Caribbean leaders, including Premier Dr. Orlando Smith, gathered in Montego Bay, Jamaica last week for the 39th Caribbean Community heads of government meeting. During the three-day …
Continue reading “CARICOM backs OTs in public registers spat”
Lord Tariq Ahmad, the United Kingdom minister for the Commonwealth and United Nations, wrote to the “Decision March” organisers last week to express his sympathy for their concerns about public …
Continue reading “United Kingdom responds to Decision March petition”
United Kingdom officials assured overseas territories delegations last week that their European Union privileges would remain in place throughout the 21-month transition period after Brexit begins on March 29, 2019, …
Continue reading “Territories to retain EU benefits through 2020, UK says”
Deputy Premier Dr. Kedrick Pickering departed the territory on Sunday to serve in Premier Dr. Orlando Smith’s stead during the Joint Ministerial Council meetings in the United Kingdom, according to …
Continue reading “Pickering heads to UK for Brexit Joint Ministerial Council”
The Virgin Islands government has contracted legal counsel to advise on a potential challenge to the United Kingdom Parliament’s recent public registers decision, according to Premier Dr. Orlando Smith. A …
Continue reading “VI government hires lawyers to mull registers challenge”
More than 1,000 people marched from the Sunday Morning Well to the Governor’s Office on Thursday to protest the recent passage of a bill in the United Kingdom requiring the …
Continue reading “1,000-plus protest UK public registers decision”
The United Kingdom bill that will force the overseas territories to implement public company registers became law when it received a royal assent on Wednesday afternoon. The amendment requires the …
Continue reading “Public registers bill receives royal assent”
This is the third story in a series on the public company registers amendment passed in the House of Commons on May 1. The first piece looked at the background behind …
Continue reading “Premier: No public register here until it’s a global standard”
Recently released Financial Services Commission statistics revealed that the last three months of 2017 saw a strong upward tick in the territory’s incorporation numbers despite the September devastation caused by …
Continue reading “Company numbers climb despite Irma, though industry future remains uncertain”