Illicit finance criticism not ‘balanced’, Premier argues

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has defended the BVI’s efforts to tackle illicit finance, arguing that UK criticism was “not necessarily a balanced perspective”.

The Premier’s comments followed an engagement in London with the UK’s Overseas Territories Minister, Stephen Doughty. While in the UK, he also participated in the UK-OT Illicit Finance Dialogue, where officials discussed beneficial ownership transparency, sanctions enforcement, and plans for another dialogue in 2026.

Dr Wheatley said he was “very pleased” to invite anti-corruption campaigner Baroness Hodge to visit the Virgin Islands so she could “learn more about how our authorities tackle illicit finance as a well-regulated jurisdiction”.

He added: “Even Baroness Hodge acknowledged that the direction of travel now is legitimate-interest access”. Premier Wheatley said the BVI will launch its VIRRGIN platform by early 2026, to provide access to beneficial ownership information on a “legitimate interest” basis. He added that the BVI’s beneficial ownership regime, along with agreements with the UK and 28 tax information exchange agreements, “remain central to our international regulatory regime”.

The UK has continued to urge more openness from the BVI. Transparency International UK welcomed the Financial Action Task Force’s decision to put the BVI on its grey list, citing serious money-laundering deficiencies and criticising the territory’s failure to meet a deadline for registers of beneficial ownership.

Premier Wheatley pushed back. He said the BVI “strongly refutes the highly misleading portrayal of the territory in recent international press reports”.

He stressed they had extended a public consultation period and were now finalising policy, with the framework to be submitted to the UK government imminently. He also rejected criticism of a BVI cartoon mascot called Riley Right, created to raise public awareness of financial crime. Some UK MPs said it trivialised the issue.

But Dr Wheatley said the campaign works “to educate the VI community on key issues such as money laundering … in a simplified and engaging way”. He reaffirmed the BVI’s commitment to global standards and highlighted its existing systems. He noted that since 2018, the BVI has maintained strong beneficial ownership systems and can share information with UK law enforcement quickly.

He said the new Virgin platform builds on that record. Premier Wheatley urged both sides to separate discussions about beneficial ownership policy from the UK decision on lifting an Order in Council tied to a previous Commission of Inquiry. That decision, he said, should be based solely on governance reforms.