The BVI, along with other UK overseas territories like Bermuda, Anguilla, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, had pledged to implement laws by April 2025 that would allow individuals with a “legitimate interest” to access company ownership data.
UK MPs slam BVI for cartoon campaign amid missed deadline
UK politicians have criticised the BVI for missing a key corporate transparency deadline while launching a cartoon-led campaign to promote financial accountability instead.
Implementation of these laws was expected to begin by June.
However, none of the four jurisdictions has met the required April deadline for publishing these plans.
UK Member of Parliament Joe Powell, who leads a cross-party group focused on financial crime and tax, was particularly critical of the BVI in a recent UK Guardian publication.
“The British Virgin Islands have not only missed a key deadline they committed to at the Joint Ministerial Council, but are now making a mockery of UK values by unveiling a cartoon mascot instead of taking real action against economic crime,” he said.
Instead of releasing the new transparency legislation, UK MPs accused the BVI government of launching a cartoon character named Riley Right — a green parakeet dressed in a suit — to promote values like “responsibility, integrity, global awareness, honesty, and transparency”.
Riley Right is part of a wider campaign under the BVI’s National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Coordinating Council.
Critics argue that this move undermines the serious need for action. “It is deeply disappointing that the BVI and other overseas territories continue to delay the implementation of vital transparency measures,” Powell said. “The UK must now look seriously at how to ensure these longstanding commitments are delivered.”
Another MP, Phil Brickell, also questioned the BVI’s priorities. He stated: “While I welcome efforts to promote doing business the right way anywhere, surely time and money would be better spent lifting the veil of corporate secrecy in the British Virgin Islands, which has been used by the world’s crooks and kleptocrats to clean and stash their dirty cash.”
In response, a BVI government spokesperson defended the cartoon initiative, saying it was “a simple and effective way to engage the wider community and enhance understanding”. They added that looking at the campaign “in isolation would present a highly misleading depiction of the scale of work we have undertaken.”
Regarding transparency registers, the spokesperson said the BVI is “in the late stages of finalising its policy, which will be shared with the UK government imminently and published in due course”.
According to the UK Foreign Office, “all overseas territories are making progress,” and officials are staying in contact to ensure the transparency agreement’s requirements are met.
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So this cartoon is a demonstration of S!0wW@nde’s leadership on a very serious topic. We in trouble buddy
This is what Corna Lady, S!0wW@nde and the other members of the A$$C!0wn Brigade were working on during their trips to London? What the Facq. We have some really incompetent people running the show here
Do our HOA representatives have their sticky little fingers in!
Boys will be Boys.
Uk stop playing with them they are making fools of you. TAHE OVER.
UK stop playing with the Government of the BVI they are making FOOLS of you. They are doing what they want with no accountability.
i agree with the u.k mp, the time we take making a cartoon we could have been finishing the coi reforms
BVI Finance did the cartoon, not the BVI Government. The BVI’s Financial Services product is managed by the BVI FSC, BVI Finance etc., not Central Government. The Government/HOA are advised by the necessary professionals to consider/approve the relevant legislation to support the industry, that is the extent of their involvement. Everything should not be political. We are here touting a story in the f**king Guardian? Really? WTF is wrong with us? We have Sowande and VIP so much that we are willing to lose ourselves in the process? Wow!
BVI Finance is not an entity on to itself. It takes orders from Corna Lady/ at the very least has her oversight and Corna Lady is part of the A$$C!0wn Brigade headed by S!0wW@nde. This is cartoon is very disappointing when we know that we are under a microscope we need to get on with what we supposed to do not invest a cent on cartoons
Lmao wtf the dawgs dem drop a cartoon instead. Is like just tell them you not doing it if you not going to do it.
that’s what we are, a set of cartoon characters, so it is no lie. We are better than hypes that doing actual real work.