Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

BVI Supports Initiatives to Fight Financial Crime: Elise Donovan

BVI Supports Initiatives to Fight Financial Crime: Elise Donovan

The description of the BVI in Bloomberg Businessweek bears no resemblance to the innovative and forward thinking jurisdiction into which the BVI has developed over recent decades. We appreciate the corrections that have already been made. However, there are still a number of misleading statements and inaccuracies:


  • The concepts of public registers and transparency are conflated. One does not equate to the other, as recognized by law enforcement authorities. To clarify, the BVI is not against publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership. Our position has always been that the BVI will adopt such an approach once it becomes the global standard. Currently it is not. Moreover, the BVI shares company beneficial ownership information with both its own and U.K. law enforcement authorities.

  • Throughout the article, it is suggested that the BVI is against transparency stating that the BVI is “one of the most vocal opponents of the worldwide transparency drive.” This is false. The BVI was an early adopter of the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for the automatic exchange of tax information; the BVI adopted and implemented the EU Directive on the Taxation of Savings Income and has signed 28 tax information exchange agreements; the BVI has signed a FACTA agreement with the U.S. and U.K.; the BVI is a member of the BEPS Inclusive Framework; the BVI is a respected and active participant in all relevant international bodies including the Financial Action Task Force and Financial Stability Board regional bodies, the global standard setter for the securities sector (IOSCO) and the Egmont Group, the global grouping of 158 Financial Intelligence Units which share expertise and intelligence to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The jurisdiction was one of the first movers when it came to anti money laundering legislation which has, in turn, benefited other finance centers. The BVI is therefore clearly and demonstrably a supporter of initiatives to improve international co-operation in the fight against financial crime and the sharing of necessary information.

  • The article states the EU has threatened the BVI with ‘blacklisting’. In fact, the BVI was assessed by the EU alongside 91 other countries, including the U.S., for the purposes of creating a list of non-cooperative jurisdictions. Subsequently, the BVI committed to economic substance requirements and implemented the required legislation. The BVI has been deemed compliant and is not and was never on an EU ‘blacklist’.

  • The representation of the Beneficial Ownership Secure Search system (BOSSs) platform fails to take numerous key points into consideration. For instance, whilst BOSSs is accessible by only two people, this is done for security of the information and to close off access. Those who access it are responding to requests. BOSSs is an innovation that has been widely applauded and recognized by the U.K. Government as a world class example of its type.

  • The reference to loopholes “allowing, for instance, trusts and corporations listed on stock exchanges to escape scrutiny” is inaccurate. Having companies which are owned by listed companies is not a loophole to avoid disclosure of beneficial ownership information. Listed companies have many shareholders. Plus, share registers of listed companies are public documents and therefore easily accessible. The jurisdiction is proud that blue chip companies listed on the world’s major stock exchanges use BVI companies within their corporate structures. As far as Trusts are concerned, again there are no loopholes. If the trustee of a trust is a BVI company it must be licensed by the Financial Services Commission, the BVI’s financial services regulator.

  • The original article stated that the cost to incorporate a company with less than 50,000 shares is $450 with the cost to renew the same. This has now been corrected to state that this is only the Government fee. However, it must be noted that the government fee can never be the total cost of incorporation. A BVI business company can only be incorporated through a licensed corporate services provider which must, through its own due diligence procedures, identify and confirm the beneficial owner, unlike the UK for example where no such verification take place. If the provider fails in this duty it can be severely penalized, with the removal of its license as the ultimate sanction. This means that the actual cost of incorporation in the BVI is around $1500 with the cost of renewal around $700 – significantly more than in the U.K., for example. The article further states that the BVI hosts around a third of the world’s offshore companies. This ignores that as of 2017 many more companies were registered in London (3.9m); Hong Kong (1.34m) and Delaware (1.18m).

  • The mentions of different options for a public register in the BVI are hearsay. The BVI Government ultimately decides its position on public registers, no one else.

  • Instead of utilizing the content provided by those interviewed who are practicing in the BVI today, the reporter has instead disproportionately relied on tales from the 1970s when the global financial regulatory architecture was in its infancy and attitudes were very different. The information significantly skews the article presenting the BVI in a wholly negative light, taking no account of the contribution the BVI now makes to the global financial regulatory framework.

The BVI was leveled by two catastrophic category five hurricanes only 18 months ago. It should be commended for getting so quickly up on its feet, albeit with continuing infrastructure challenges which we of course recognize and will continue to remedy. We, in the BVI, always try to engage, to inform and educate, even with those who have a different point of view.

Elise Donovan
Chief Executive Officer, BVI Finance

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×