Did BVI get a bad grade for anti-money laundering practices?

In January 2024, the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) will release a full report showing whether the BVI is in compliance with the international standards for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing.

That announcement was made by Minister of Financial Services Lorna Smith, who said she recently saw the draft report when she met with CFATF members in Aruba. However, Minister Smith did not tell the territory what conclusions the draft report drew about the BVI’s anti-money laundering framework.

Instead of sharing what the report concluded about the territory, Minister Smith released a statement which said, “in partnership with all its competent authorities and industry stakeholders, the Government of the Virgin Islands is committed to addressing any recommendations identified in the final report and ensuring the availability of necessary resources for this purpose.”

CFATF evaluated the BVI in March of this year.

The minister also said the draft mutual evaluation report remains confidential while it undergoes the relevant quality and control checks.

CFATF is the regional body of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – which establishes international standards towards combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

A bad grade could put the BVI’s reputation at risk amidst increased efforts to maintain the jurisdiction’s image as a trusted financial services hub that abides by the highest international standards.

The territory has been seeing some wins on the international front, having been recently removed from the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions. The government said removing BVI from that list showed that the EU recognized various legislative changes made recently, including changes to the BVI Business Companies Amendment Act 2022, and BVI Business Amendment Regulations 2022, as well as those which came into force on January 1, 2023.