Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

Outgoing British Virgin Islands governor decries corruption

Outgoing British Virgin Islands governor decries corruption

The shuffling of diplomats around the UK’s Caribbean territories rarely makes much of a splash. But Gus Jaspert ensured his last days as governor of the British Virgin Islands would be remembered.
In an emotional Facebook video post to the BVI’s 30,000 inhabitants, he accused the country’s government of overseeing a “plague” of corruption, interfering in the criminal justice system and attempting to silence anyone who raised concerns about the misuse of funds, including £30m to help the islands’ fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Jaspert claimed that the BVI government had deliberately delayed legal reforms and hindered local inquiries into a string of corruption allegations including £5m spent on a non-existent airline and nearly £1m on building a short wall around a school. Tens of millions more spent on a hospital and a cruise ship dock are in question. Citing concerns about organised crime, he mentioned $250m (£180m) of cocaine seized from the home of a police officer last year.

Amid reports that the EU is getting ready to blacklist the BVI as a tax haven, the career civil servant – who for a time served as private secretary to Britain’s former prime minister David Cameron – had a message for BVI’s citizens: “Your voices have been heard. We have received the message loud and clear – the people of BVI want better.”

The allegations will now be examined in a commission of inquiry, a formal process overseen by a British high court judge. Jaspert is acting with the backing of Dominic Raab, the British foreign secretary, who issued a written statement saying the UK had a “constitutional and moral duty to protect the interests of the people of BVI”.

The surprise move has plunged the BVI into a constitutional crisis, and the coming months could determine whether these islands sever the last of their ties with the British crown.

The BVI exports rum and fruit, and hundreds of thousands of tourists disembark each year from yachts and cruise liners to bask on its white sand beaches, but more than half of government receipts come from the financial sector.

Around 400,000 offshore companies are registered in the BVI. While most ordinary citizens will never need to park money in a tax haven, the Panama Papers and successive data leaks have revealed just how widely used they are by the rich and famous. The anonymity they provide also appeals to shady oligarchs and corrupt despots.

BVI businesses are black boxes, with no public register of their owners and no duty to publish accounts or pay taxes. Many hold property. In London alone, the real estate held by BVI shells is worth billions of pounds.

The BVI is an overseas territory, where the Queen remains head of state and the judicial committee of the privy council in London is still the court of final appeal. Following recent clashes over UK legislation designed to limit its activities as a tax haven, the number of incorporations has plummeted and many on these islands are now calling for greater independence.

“Is this a prelude on a pre-step to the United Kingdom coming in and taking over?” Claude O Skelton-Cline, a well-known BVI talk radio host, asked last week. A paid government consultant, Skelton-Cline’s views are though to be aligned with many of those in the higher echelons of BVI politics.

His fears are not unfounded. In 2009 the UK suspended the constitution of the Turks and Caicos and assumed day-to-day control, after a commission of inquiry found widespread corruption.

Victor Bulmer-Thomas, a fellow at Chatham House and Caribbean expert, said the situation “looks very much like a rerun of the Turks and Caicos crisis a few years ago and is a reminder of how vulnerable the overseas territories are to the actions of unscrupulous individuals”.

He believes Westminster may have been prompted to intervene by reports that the EU plans to exploit Brexit by adding the nation to its list of tax havens. The sanction is largely symbolic, although banks could in future be reluctant to hold accounts for companies in blacklisted jurisdictions.

As Brexit continues to shake the foundations of Britain’s foreign relations, its ability to protect its territories from censure has been diminished. The onus is now on Raab to convince the EU that corruption will be stamped out.

Sir Gary Hickinbottom, whose experience includes a period as a supreme court judge in the Falkland Islands, has been chosen as the man for the job. He has already arrived on the main island of Tortola, where he gave a press conference on Friday. He has until July to make recommendations for action, including whether criminal proceedings should be brought against individuals.

For its part, the BVI government had been due to review its constitutional relationship with the UK later this year. Officials had talked of moving to a model of “free association” with the old colonial power, which would mean having a political alliance with the UK but more independent governance.

In 2018 a cross-party coalition of Westminster MPs led by the Labour politician Margaret Hodge and her Conservative colleague Andrew Mitchell won parliamentary support for legislation obliging the BVI and other UK dependencies to publish the names of shell company owners in public registers.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
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
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
×