UK transparency watchdog gives BVI ‘F’ rating
The BVI has received an ‘F’ grade from Transparency International UK for failing to make its company ownership records meaningfully accessible, while fellow UK Overseas Territory Montserrat earned an ‘A’, emerging as the strongest performer in a new global transparency assessment.
The findings come from ‘Opening Up Offshore Secrecy’, a detailed review of beneficial ownership registers across four major UK Overseas Territories: Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the BVI. The watchdog examined 92 criteria covering the quality of each jurisdiction’s framework and the public accessibility of company ownership data.
Montserrat received A grades in both categories and was praised for operating a fully public register — the gold standard for transparency. By contrast, the BVI and Bermuda received an F for accessibility, signalling that their systems remain effectively closed to journalists, civil society and most investigators.
“Behind the promise of progress, very little has changed,” said Margot Mollat, a senior policy manager at Transparency International UK. She warned that the BVI and others have “fallen short of their promises” and continue to prioritise secrecy.
The report raises several BVI-specific red flags, including:
- “Tipping-off” rules that could alert suspects they’re being investigated
- High barriers to access, requiring case-by-case applications for basic ownership details
- Incomplete records, especially involving trusts
- Restricted search tools, meaning a user must already know the company name
Transparency International argues that these limitations make it far harder to detect and prevent global corruption and money laundering.
Mollat said denying access to investigators sends a clear signal: “These territories still prioritise secrecy over wider transparency efforts to effectively tackle money laundering.” She added that when billions are laundered through jurisdictions like the BVI, “communities worldwide pay the price.”
The report also cites the BVI’s history in global financial scandals. They referred to earlier investigations by Transparency International that found that over 90% of companies from UK territories linked to major corruption cases were incorporated in the BVI, appearing in schemes amounting to £250 billion across 79 countries.
The BVI’s reputation suffered further last year when the Financial Action Task Force grey-listed the territory, citing failures to appreciate the role BVI companies play in economic crime outside its borders.
While BVI and other territories switched from promising public registers to adopting an EU-style “legitimate interest” model, Transparency International says those systems are being interpreted far too narrowly to be useful. In theory, such a model could still earn top marks — but in practice, only Gibraltar, Montserrat and St Helena have achieved genuinely open and accessible systems.
With the UK’s 2018 anti-money laundering law requiring Overseas Territories to create public registers, and with yet another year of delays cited in the report, pressure is mounting for the BVI to begin delivering on transparency promises it made nearly seven years ago.
Transparency International’s full assessment includes recommendations for each territory and case studies showing how opaque structures have enabled scandals from 1MDB to PrivatBank.
The BVI government has not issued a response to the watchdog’s findings.
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F for foggy
Transparency International UK is not considered to be a serious organisation. It is a high tax campaign group that wants universal tax rates (high rates) set across the whole world.
Woman, go eat some fish and chips and relax yourself.
OR ~ F A I L U R E , DOESN’T MATTER WE ALL KNOW WHAT THE RESULTS WERE GOING TO BE , IF THEY THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED WHATS REALLY GOING ON HERE , SO NO SUPPRISE THERE , AND REGARDLESS OF THOSE WHO WANTS TO PUT UP A WANNABE DEFENCE , TO HIDE THEIR GUILT , THATS IS EXPECTED, FROM THOSE WHO’S HANDS ARE UNCLEAN, ( LISTENING TO THEM HOLLER OUT YOU WOULD THINK THEY JUST CAME OUT OF HEAVEN ) THE COUNTRY NEEDS CLEANSING FROM THESE PREDATORS / AND JAIL THEM WITH THE SAME YEARS AS THEIR AGE , THAT WILL SEND A STRONG MESSAGE TO THE PERPETRATORS OF ANY CRIME.
SECRECY
bvi is good ignore this bogus report
Natures Little Secret
The fact is that the BVI trust and corporate services business (which is the area they always targetting) is REGULATED! Just like a UK bank or a UK law firm. When they are required to list their clients on a punlic register then that is when BVI will have to be required to do so. No one listed at the UK companies house register has been verified or risk screened. Let that sink in.
Transparency International ranks the UK’s public sector as having a perceived corruption level of 71 out of 100 on its 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, which places it 20th out of 180 countries. This is the UK’s lowest-ever score, declining from its position just outside the top ten in 2021, and reflects ongoing concerns about public sector standards, including political integrity and issues with public procurement.
-Score: 71/100 (on a scale where 100 is “very clean” and 0 is “highly corrupt”)
– Global Rank: 20th out of 180 countries
Trend: The score has hit an all-time low and is a significant drop from previous years. The UK has not improved its position since last year.
Factors: Transparency International cites factors such as a decline in public trust, alleged cronyism, and issues with awarding public contracts, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nobody studies this dumb group Transparency International. Just like the Guardian is a tabloid waste of time media in the UK. This report carries absolutely no weight or credibility in the industry. Look who they give an A to, Monsterrat that ain’t even in Financial services. Chupes! BVI remains one of the best regulated Financial Centres in the world. UK just want to get their hand on our purse and willing to kill our economy to do so
Even if the BVI had passed those UK ba**arss would say they fail.. set of morons