New registration requirements for all designated non-financial businesses and professions

The following is a public notice from the Financial Investigation Agency:

The Financial Investigation Agency (“Agency”) is responsible for the supervision and monitoring of all Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (“DNFBPs”) within the Territory of the Virgin Islands (“the Territory”). 

As of 13 August, 2021, the Agency was also given responsibility for the registration of all DNFBPs within the Territory. 

On 24 February 2022, the Agency issued two Public Notices in the Virgin Islands Official Gazette for the attention of DNFBPs as follows: Public Notice

These Public Notices apply to all businesses and professions classified as DNFBPs within the Territory of the Virgin Islands, namely: 

1. Legal practitioners, notaries public or accountants undertaking relevant business, that is, the provision of services to clients, which involve transactions concerning any of the following activities – 

1.1. Buying and selling of real estate; 

1.2. Managing of client money, securities, or other assets; 

1.3. Management of bank, savings or securities accounts; 

1.4. Organisation of contributions for the creation, operation or management of companies; and 

1.5. Creation, operation or management of legal persons or arrangements, or buying and selling of business entities. 

2. Real estate agents undertaking relevant business, that is, the business of acting as a real estate agent when engaged in a transaction for a client concerning the buying and selling of real estate. 

3. Persons engaged in the business of dealing in precious metals or precious stones when such transactions involve accepting a cash payment* of $15,000 or more or the equivalent in any other currency. 

4. Persons engaged in the business of buying and selling boats, vehicles, jewellery or other high valued goods such as furniture, machinery and art (relating to paintings and sculptures that are of intrinsic value), when such transactions involve accepting a cash payment* of $15,000 or more or the equivalent in any other currency. *Please note cash transactions involve transactions undertaken via wire transfer, cheques and any other type of monetary instrument. 

Action Required 

All businesses and professions classified as DNFBPs are required to complete the registration documents and submit to the Agency for processing on or before 31 May 2022. 

All applicable registration documents are available to download from the Agency’s website.

Registration Seminars 

The Agency will be holding seminars to explain the new registration requirements as well as the Fit and Proper test criteria for DNFBPs on the following dates:

In order to ensure social distancing and Covid safety protocols are followed, places will be limited to two (2) persons per business, and priority will be given to DNFBP businesses. If you would like to attend one (1) of the seminars, please send an email to the [email protected] providing the name, job title, contact number and email address of the persons attending the seminars. Further details of the seminars will then be sent to those persons directly. 

Further information 

All information on the new registration requirements as well as the Fit and Proper test are provided on the Agency’s website, under the “Supervised Entities” tab (https://www.fiabvi.vg/). If you have any additional queries, or would like to discuss your business’s registration, please contact the Agency’s Supervision and Enforcement Unit (“SEU”) at telephone number 284-852-3200 or via email at [email protected]. The SEU will be happy to assist you.