The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is enhancing its anti-money laundering regime, bringing it in line with international standards on transparency. Although draft legislation has not yet been published, the proposed changes are expected to apply to the Eligible Introducer Regime and are due to come into force on 1 January 2016.
If you are one of our approved professional intermediary (PI) clients, these changes are likely to affect you and your clients.
Disclosure of ultimate beneficial ownership for new and existing
companies
From 1 January 2016, PI clients incorporating a new BVI company
will need to disclose ultimate beneficial ownership to the
company's registered agent, e.g. OIL. For each ultimate
beneficial owner, PI clients will need to provide the
following:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Residential address
- Nationality
The changes also apply to existing BVI companies, although there is likely to be a 12-month transitional period. This means that PI clients will have until 31 December 2016 to submit the information for existing companies.
In addition to these requirements, the BVI government has announced that a register of directors for each active BVI company will need to be filed with the BVI registry. While BVI regulatory and legal authorities will be able to access this information, it will not be publicly available.
What this means in practice
As one of our PI clients, you will still be able to incorporate
BVI companies in a fast and efficient manner.
You will be able to submit the relevant information through OIL's Client Portal. In most cases, you will not need to provide us with any supporting documents.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
