News: London requires the BVI to open beneficiaries registers

The leadership of the UK requires the Virgin Islands to allow the opening of registers of company owners. The Government of the Islands replied that such a turn of events is possible, only if all the countries of the Commonwealth take this step.

According to Prime Minister Andrew Fahey, they are ready to take this step after there is a serious proposal and not manifestations of pressure on the authorities of the UBE. The official noted that as early as 2018, the kingdom approved a plan for overseas territories to open the registry in 2020, but then the deadlines shifted to 2023.

In the UK, they were very sceptical about the words of the government of the Virgin Islands. Representatives of the Conservative Party noted that since they are British nationals, they are obliged to comply with the laws, like all members of the Commonwealth. However, apart from consultations on the opening of the registry, there has been no significant progress on this issue.

In addition, there is a technical component: after all, only two people from the Island Financial Investigation Agency have access to registries in the UBE. All data is stored on secure servers in one of the G7 countries. As noted by the developers of the system, access to it will continue to remain closed until the governments of the United Kingdom and the Virgin Islands find common points of compromise.

Law and Trust International provides an opportunity to register a company on the British Virgin Islands. To get more about the cost of registration and features of the procedure, please contact our lawyers.