BVI: BVI publishes policy on beneficial ownership

Amid international pressure, the BVI has published a new policy that guides access to the Register of Beneficial Ownership for BVI Business Companies and Limited Partnerships.

According to the BVI government, the policy—published on June 23—follows a comprehensive stakeholder consultation process and adheres to international best practices in corporate transparency and anti-money laundering.

However, it’s unclear whether UK officials will be pleased with the new policy, as it contains measures they recently rejected.

The UK has been pushing for the BVI to implement publicly accessible registers that are easily available to almost anyone. But the BVI government’s new policy outlines that only certain people with a legitimate purpose can request ownership information.

These requestors won’t be able to access all the information; they will be limited to details on individuals holding 25 percent or more of a company’s ownership or control.

Once these legitimate parties make a request, the new policy dictates that registered companies will receive notification, and a process for managing objections and appeals before any data is released will be triggered.

“Through the process, beneficial owners can apply for exemptions, and clear fees, penalties, and privacy rules guard against misuse of information by the requesting person,” a statement from the BVI government said.

The measures in the new policy are similar to those previously proposed by the BVI but were condemned by UK legislators, who said the proposal contained loopholes that would make it nearly impossible to determine company ownership.

“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,” former UK Minister Andrew Mitchell said.

In the meantime, Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has defended the new policy, saying the BVI took several steps to define legitimate access, given that there is no single global standard for implementing these registers.

“The application of legitimate interest filters marks the next significant milestone in our journey to implement best practice, and caps three years of significant investment, legislative and regulatory reform.”

He added: “Given the lack of a single global standard, we have taken a considered and collaborative approach to build a clear and transparent policy, and undertaken a robust stakeholder consultation to define what constitutes legitimate access, and the processes that govern it within the BVI.”

The government said the policy will be implemented following a transitional period to allow for system enhancements, user testing, dissemination of guidance, and processing of exemption applications.

The Financial Services Commission will also continue to meet with industry stakeholders on the new policy and draft regulations that will enact it, so stakeholders can have the opportunity to provide valuable feedback on the new measures.