IN response to your recent piece headed "UK tax haven colonies enabled £250 billion in crimes", we wanted to address the numerous inaccuracies stemming from the original Transparency International report on the alleged role the UK’s Overseas Territories play in “money laundering and corruption”.
Billions of dollars are mediated through the British Virgin Islands (BVI) every year as a result of our trusted reputation within the international business community. We are an active participant in a number of international initiatives, often exceeding global standards, and operate within a stringent regulatory framework and respected legal system.
Transparency International states that “anonymous companies” registered in the BVI have enabled corrupt individuals to hide criminal acts and enjoy the proceeds of their crimes with impunity. This is inaccurate.
Far from being a “secrecy haven”, the BVI is an early adopter of the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), which requires the automatic exchange of information with multiple jurisdictions for tax purposes and has been described by HMRC as “the holy grail” for tackling evasion.
As evidenced in an independent report by research consultancy Capital Economics last year, the BVI “compares well against many other jurisdictions on international standards for transparency, tax information exchange and anti-money laundering”.
We are a member of the OECD’s Global Forum on Tax and Exchange of Information and sit on the Peer Review Group, playing a vital role in setting global standards of transparency for tax purposes. Within this framework the BVI is rated as "largely compliant" by the OECD; the same rating held by the UK.
The BVI also operates one of the most advanced beneficial ownership platforms in the world, facilitating direct access to verified beneficial ownership information on corporate entities incorporated within the jurisdiction.
In contrast, the UK’s public register is based on unverifiable information which does not ensure the accuracy of the data contained within it – thereby making it prone to abuse.
A public register is not the silver bullet to solve the problem of financial crime. It is not about who can see the information; it’s about the information being verified, accurate and therefore useful to law enforcement agencies. It is here that the BVI’s priorities lie and will continue to do so.
Lorna Smith,
Interim Executive Director, BVI Finance,
Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
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