Regulatory Blog

On 28 October 2024, the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission and Financial Investigation Agency jointly released new guidance to help financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions manage risks associated with third-party introducers. This guidance is aimed at strengthening compliance with anti-money laundering regulations and related local legislation by offering a structured, risk-based approach.

The Financial Services Commission Act 2001 (the FSC Act) is the umbrella to the financial services legislation in the BVI. The FSC Act has recently been amended by the Financial Services Commission (Amendment) Act 2024 (the Amendment). The Amendment was assented by the Governor of the BVI on 29 October 2024 and Gazetted on 7 November 2024. The Amendment is not yet in force and will come into force on such a date as the Minster may by Notice publish in the Gazette.

On 6 November 2024, the Governor of the Virgin Islands issued a Notice under the Virgin Islands Sanctions Regulations, empowering certain officials and entities to manage and enforce sanctions.

Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the UK Government, alongside the member states of the European Union, the United States of America and other global stakeholders issued significant new sanctions. View a table of all the sanctions here

On 15 October 2024, the Governor of the Virgin Islands issued General Licence No. 7 2024 (maintenance of economic resources), replacing the previous General Licence No. 4 2023. This new licence, valid for two years until 14 October 2026, allows Registered Agents and Corporate Services Providers to manage specific payments on behalf of designated individuals or companies, subject to certain limits.

On 11 September 2024, the UK's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) issued a notice regarding the 2024 frozen assets reporting requirement. UK financial sanctions mandate that funds or economic resources owned or controlled by designated persons must be frozen. These sanctions are primarily enforced through the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018.

The Russia (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2024 is effective from 3 October 2024 and introduces updates to the sanctions regime applied to British Overseas Territories in relation to Russia.

The Virgin Islands introduced updates to its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Terrorist Financing regulatory framework through the Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 and the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Code of Practice, 2024.

The BVI government introduced an important update to its Securities and Investment Business Act under the Securities and Investment Business (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order, 2024. This amendment was officially gazetted on 5 September 2024.