BVI: UK wants to dictate our economic progress

Junior Minister for Financial Services Lorna Smith has stated that the United Kingdom tries to dictate the shape of the Virgin Islands’ economy, arguing that such interference undermines the people’s right to self-determination.

Speaking in the House of Assembly, Smith said the UK’s approach to issues like public access to the registers of company beneficial ownership shows an ongoing attempt to control how the BVI manages its financial services industry — a key pillar of the local economy.

“What I’m seeing today is the administering power, that is the United Kingdom, dictating what the economy of the Virgin Islands should look like,” Smith told the House. “And I say this on the basis of deep experience.”

Smith anchored her remarks in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2635 of 1970, which affirms that all peoples have the right to determine their political status and pursue their own economic, social, and cultural development without external interference.

She said while the Virgin Islands has long championed transparency in its financial services, the UK’s insistence on “unfettered access” to beneficial ownership registers goes beyond global standards.

“There is no global standard in relation to public access to registers of beneficial ownership,” Smith said, noting that the BVI had already invested heavily in systems like the Beneficial Ownership Secure Search (BOSS) system, which provides verified information to law enforcement within hours if necessary.

Smith pointed out that the European Court of Justice ruled two years ago against such open access based on privacy rights, and that even many EU member states and the Crown Dependencies have not introduced public registers.

She said the BVI has sought to strike a balance between privacy and transparency through its new “legitimate interest” policy, which allows access to beneficial ownership information for those who can prove a connection to anti–money laundering or counter–terrorism investigations.

Despite those measures, Smith said, “This has not been good enough for the United Kingdom.”

The junior minister also questioned whether the governor’s role in representing both the UK and the Virgin Islands was being fairly carried out, saying the arrangement now appears “very lopsided.”
Smith’s comments come amid growing debate over the BVI’s constitutional future and the call by some leaders for greater political and economic autonomy from the UK.