The British Virgin Islands Ministry of Finance published remarks by the Premier and Minister of Finance, Financial Services and Trade from a Hong Kong roundtable with BVI financial services firms and trust and corporate service providers, setting out the government’s approach to implementing recent regulatory and compliance changes while maintaining the jurisdiction’s competitiveness in Asia-Pacific markets. The remarks highlighted ongoing consultations on beneficial ownership registers, including the work to define “legitimate interests”. The statement described the pace of recent policy and legislative change in the jurisdiction and positioned it as driven by engagement with international bodies including the Financial Action Task Force, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, European Union and the UK Government, with practitioners consulted on most changes in advance. It also reiterated BVI participation in international sanctions regimes, Common Reporting Standard and Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act reporting, automatic exchange of information arrangements, and cooperation with UK and international law enforcement, alongside an intention to challenge misrepresentation of the jurisdiction and safeguard legitimate clients’ rights and security. The Premier noted that the BVI government and regulator have held five meetings in Hong Kong from 2024 to the present, with a follow-up meeting planned for early second quarter by the BVI Financial Services Commission.

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