H O M E

A B O U T

EVENTS

BVI GLOBAL IMPACT

DOWN TO ZERO

We jubilantly received the news this week that the British Virgin Islands (BVI) now has zero recorded cases of COVID 19. This is no small feat and we greatly thank and congratulate the Government of the Virgin Islands and all the public service officers for their valiant efforts working around the clock to ensure health and safety.

We are also grateful to our colleagues in the financial services industry who continue to adapt to these challenging circumstances and do what is necessary to keep the BVI’s economy afloat. Currently contributing upwards of 65 percent of the government’s revenues, the financial services industry remains a strong bedrock of the BVI’s economy and in practical terms, it keeps the lights on. For this, we are truly grateful.

By no means are we out of the woods with the coronavirus, which continues to disrupt normal ways of life globally. The Ministry of Health has reminded us that we need to remain on guard as we move into the next phase of the re-opening process. In countries around the world, we have seen that this has been a delicate balance. While the BVI has done relatively well in our efforts to revitalize social and economic activity, our adherence to the protocols established by the Ministry of Health will give us the best chance to emerge stronger and more resilient during this re-opening.

Compliance to protocols is very important because the virus spreads silently and invisibly. Covid-19 is not going to show itself on anyone’s face. According to the Ministry of Health, 37 percent of the Covid-19 cases recorded in the BVI had no symptoms and remained undetectable until tested – this is with about 15 percent of the population being tested for the virus.

We thank you for your hard work in keeping our financial services industry thriving and ask you to please continue to do your part in keeping the BVI healthy and safe.

Elise Donovan

CEO BVI Finance

CUSTOMER SERVICE, ADAPTABILITY AND PARTNERSHIPS CONDUCIVE TO INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

BVI’s customer service, adaptability and partnerships were highlighted on the latest episode of BVI Business Insight, as just a few of the benefits making the jurisdiction conducive to international business.

“It’s a combination of factors that make us unique,” said Carolina Lacerda, Managing Director of CORPAG, continuing, “We move with the market. We have foresight to certain situations. [We have] very good legislation and a judicial system based on UK law.”

“It comes back to customer service, adaptability, and having the right partners.”

Ms. Lacerda also said BVI’s human resources are adaptable and resilient as seen by the financial institutions’ response to Hurricane Irma, commenting: “In that moment, we showed the world just a piece of what the BVI is really about.”

Click here to read more.

WALKERS ANNOUNCED THE PROMOTION OF OMONIKE ROBINSON-PICKERING

Walkers (BVI) is delighted to announce the partnership promotion of Omonike Robinson-Pickering (of our Finance, Corporate & Funds team) effective 1 October 2020:

Omonike Robinson-Pickering has been promoted to partner in the Finance, Corporate & Funds team at Walkers in the BVI, effective on October 1 2020. Omonike joined Walkers' BVI office in 2009 and advises on a range of finance, general corporate and commercial matters, including asset finance transactions, debt and equity finance, investment fund financings, general corporate financings, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and corporate restructurings. She also advises on succession matters including applications for grants of personal representation.

Omonike has previously worked in the Walkers' Singapore, Hong Kong and Cayman Islands offices on secondment and has been recognised by the 2020 Legal 500 and the 2020 IFLR 1000 as a Rising Star.

Managing Partner in the BVI Matthew Cowman said: "Walkers is committed to developing its team in the BVI and we are incredibly pleased to announce Omonike's promotion. We congratulate her on this important milestone."

BVI Finance congratulates Omonike Robinson-Pickering on this accomplishment.

BVI FINANCE CONGRATULATES MEMBER FIRMS RECOGNISED IN 2020 IFLR1000 GUIDE

BVI Finance congratulates all member firms and the 58 BVI Lawyers. Click here to see more ranking details by the IFLR1000.

CAREY OLSEN RETAINS BEST OFFSHORE LAW FIRM TITLE AT CHAMBERS HIGH NET WORTH AWARDS

Carey Olsen has been named Offshore Firm of the Year for the second successive year at the highly respected Chambers High Net Worth Awards.

Winners of the awards, which celebrate legal excellence in the world of private wealth, were announced during a virtual ceremony on the 8th October 2020, and followed the publication of the 2020 edition of the Chambers and Partners High Net Worth guide earlier this year in which Carey Olsen continued to be ranked in more jurisdictions than any other offshore law firm and had more lawyers ranked individually than any competitor.

Within the guide commentary itself, Carey Olsen was commended for 'its technical excellence', the ability to 'handle the big-ticket work for major clients' and praised for possessing a 'great combination of technical excellence along with emotional intelligence and commercial pragmatism'.

Commenting on Carey Olsen's latest award win, partner Keith Robinson, head of the firm's Bermuda trusts and private wealth practice and the only lawyer in Bermuda to be ranked in Band 1 by Chambers HNW, said: "Our global trusts and private wealth team continues to go from strength to strength with expanding practices in Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands complementing our substantial presence in the Channel Islands.

Click here to read more.

WE VALUE THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY, JUST LIKE THE EU

Some media sources continue to conveniently conflate the definition of ‘secrecy’ and ‘privacy’ when it comes to accessing information on the beneficial ownership of companies. There is a clear and important distinction to be made here. The BVI’s register of beneficial ownership is private but it is by no means secret as it can be accessed by law enforcement authorities.

The BVI subscribes to the Common Law principle of confidentiality and an individual’s right to privacy – especially when it comes to personal and business transactions. This is true of the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights that stipulates that EU citizens have the right to protection of their personal data. In fact, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is considered the toughest privacy and security law in the world.

We also respect the right to privacy as per Article 12 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights; “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”

To that effect, the BVI Government reiterated its support for working with the United Kingdom Government towards the implementation of a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership for companies, yet with clearly stated reservations.

The announcement was well received by the UK Government and other stakeholders, yet in covering the news one UK newspaper referred to the BVI as a ‘secrecy jurisdiction’. This contained little resemblance to the facts. There was no mention of the BVI’s track record in meeting international standards for transparency and information sharing.

Missing from the piece was the fact that the BVI currently holds an accessible beneficial ownership register for all companies incorporated. Furthermore, unlike many other jurisdictions including the UK, only licensed and regulated corporate service providers (CSPs) can incorporate companies in the BVI. By law, CSPs are required to conduct customer due diligence.

The media report should have also noted that the BVI was one of the first jurisdictions to introduce anti-money laundering (AML) legislation in 1999 and has implemented comprehensive AML laws and adopts stringent rules in know-your customer (KYC) due diligence consistent with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations – the global standard for combating financial crime and money laundering.

Indeed, through its Beneficial Ownership Secure Search system (BOSSs), the BVI’s autonomous law enforcement agency the Financial Investigation Agency (FIA), can provide rapid access to verified beneficial ownership information on any BVI company. Today the BVI IFA shares information with more than 200 countries around the world – again a fact that would have evidenced the BVI’s progressive approach.

The BVI Government has reaffirmed its commitment to meeting international standards of accessibility and transparency, whilst clearly setting out reservations that need to be addressed to protect the best interests of those who use its services for legitimate purposes.

Presenting the BVI as a secrecy jurisdiction is neither accurate or fair. It is also a hindrance to our constructive and collaborative dialogue with international authorities and institutions in the global fight against financial crime and money laundering. The BVI will continue in its efforts to keep pace with evolving global standards, but on our own terms. In doing so, we will continue to ensure that the BVI remains one of the world’s leading and competitive international finance centres.

CAMPBELLS ADVISED JOY SPREADER INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGY LTD. ON ITS HK$1.57 BILLION (US$201 MILLION) RAISED ON THE HONG KONG STOCK EXCHANGE

Campbells acted as Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands legal counsel to Joy Spreader Interactive Technology Ltd. (乐享互动有限公司) (“Joy Spreader”) in connection with its HK$1.57 billion (US$201 million) (and up to HK$1.80 billion (US$231 million) upon exercise of the over-allotment option) raise on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This IPO, oversubscribed more than 1600 times, was the third most sought-after in Hong Kong this year by retail investors.

Click here to read more.

BVI LIMITATION PERIODS FOR FOREIGN LAW CLAIMS

Given the reputation of the BVI as a premium offshore jurisdiction, its corporate structures have long been popular with individuals from across the globe. That has, in turn, led to disputes before the BVI court with an international dimension. It is common for those disputes to involve claims that, under the BVI choice of law rules, are governed by the law of a foreign country. In those circumstances, a question that often arises is what limitation period or periods apply to those claims? Is the limitation period determined by the rules of the foreign country (the lex causae), or does the relevant BVI limitation period apply (on the basis that the BVI is lex fori)?

Unfortunately, there does not appear, at present, to be a clear or straightforward answer to that question, as there do not appear to be any BVI or relevant offshore authorities that directly address the issue, and, as explained below, the English common law position has been replaced by statute and expressly departed from by the Courts in various well-known common law jurisdictions. Ultimately, our view is that the position adopted in those other jurisdictions (in particular Australia and Canada) ought now to be adopted in the BVI, but that would require the BVI Court to depart from a long line of old English authority, which is not something it is likely to do lightly.

Click here to read more.

HOW TO USE YOUR HEART AND HEAD TO HACK YOUR PERSONAL FINANCE

You can make it more complicated, but successful financial planning has only two major parts.

First, you figure out your goals: “I want to make sure my kids can attend a good college,” or, “I want to retire in style in Tuscany,” or, “I just want to make ends meet when I can’t work any longer.” Then you determine the steps most likely to achieve them.

Two new books leave it up to you to determine your goals, presumably because what you want to achieve can be as unique as you are.

Click here to read more by Paul Brown.

WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY 2020: KNOW HOW LACK OF SLEEP AFFECTS YOU MENTALLY

Both sleep disorders and depression share common symptoms such as the lack of energy, difficulty in concentrating, memory loss, sexual dysfunction, and loss of interest in hobbies or social activities, etc.

World Mental Health Day 2020: October 10 is observed as World Mental Health Day across the globe. This day is meant to raise awareness around mental health issues, and mobilise efforts to provide support to people dealing with them. World Mental Health Day falls amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here to read more by Garima Arora by DoctorNDTV

ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE IN THE BVI- SEEKING COMPLIANCE AND EMBRACING

PRESSING THE RESET BUTTON INNOVATION IN THE BVI

In this episode, Patrick and Lodewijk of Walkers Global explore what makes the BVI so business-friendly and how this environment has managed to attract so many world-class lawyers and financial firms with its capacity for innovation and high-class standards of law and regulation.  

BVI FINANCE SUPPORTS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS CLUB

Click here to view other doors posted

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JOB POSTINGS:

IMPLEMENTATION COORDINATOR

Role Summary

The successful applicant will serve as a technical for the AML/CFT Implementation unit with responsibility for ensuring progress at each phase of implementation and review of the recommendations emanating from the Virgin Islands’National Risk Assessment (NRA) in preparation for the 2018 Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s Mutual Evaluation.

Click here to read more.

IN THE NEWS

ON BOARD Magazine Autumn 2020

OECD to provide update of global tax negotiation on Monday.

Why are family offices on the rise?

What a creditor needs to know about liquidating an insolvent BVI company

BVI Finance

Road Town, Tortola, BVI

www.bvifinance.vg