Dear Members,
 
The Territory of the Virgin Islands, through the BVI Financial Services Commission (the "commission"), is a long-standing member of the Group of International Financial Centre Supervisors (GIFCS). As part of the global community of financial services regulators, the Commission values its participation in developing and reviewing regulatory and supervisory standards.  
 
GIFCS will undertake a peer review/evaluation of the Territory’s compliance with the GIFSCS Standards on 11-15 November 2019.  Therefore, we are hereby notifying you of the upcoming assessment and request that you take steps to notify your members. The Commission will also send a formal announcement to the heads of all registered agents and licensees regarding the GIFCS evaluation and what is expected of Trust and Company Service Providers (TCSPs) who may be called upon for an interview.
 
Firms will be called upon and notified in due course once the Commission has identified potential participants. Participating firms can expect a meeting/interview with the assessment team. It is expected that the interviews would cover issues relevant to the operations of a firms licensed activities including how the firm deals with AML/CFT matters. We expect firms to be open and honest with the assessment team. Firms should note that the names of specific firms will not be part of the final report and any statistical information would be in the aggregate thereby not enable the identification of a specific firm.  We envisaged that interviews would last between 30-60 minutes.
 
As a reference, a copy of the GIFCS Standards on Regulation of a TCSP can be viewed on the link https://www.groupgifcs.org/letsgo/uploads/gifcsstandardontcsps.pdf.
 
For additional information on the evaluation please direct your inquiries to Mrs. Helen Marquis (marquish@bvifsc.vg) or Mrs. Yolanda M. McCoy (mccoyy@bvifsc.vg).