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* BVI Financial Services Commision issues new anti-money laundering and terrorist financing code of prThe Code replaces the Guidance Notes on the Prevention of Money Laundering, issued in 1999, and mandates that relevant businesses and professionals take particular measures to prevent, deter and tackle money laundering and terrorist financing.
There are eight (8) parts to the new Code:
- Part I outlines the duties of the FSC and the Financial Investigation Agency in relation to the Code’s application and administration;
- Part II focuses on the requirements for relevant businesses to establish internal controls combating money laundering and terrorist financing;
- Part III addresses customer due diligence (including enhanced customer due diligence) measures to be taken by relevant businesses;
- Part IV prohibits the use of shell banks and opening anonymous accounts or accounts with fictitious names in the BVI;
- Part V outlines the steps to be taken when administering wire transfers;
- Part VI addresses record keeping obligations;
- Part VII outlines the requirement for relevant businesses to provide employee training which improves the compliance culture of businesses; and
- Part VIII addresses miscellaneous matters such as dealing with new regimes of information exchange between the public and private sectors.
To protect its integrity and reputation as a well-regulated international finance centre, the BVI has adapted to the changing global environment and taken necessary measures to deter and confront financial crime.
The newly enacted Code represents just one of the many positive and forward-looking steps the BVI and the FSC have taken to foster these objectives. The new Code also serves as a practical guide for compliance with standards on anti-money laundering and combating terrorist financing.
Furthermore, working in tandem with other measures comprising the BVI’s anti-money laundering regime, the Code fosters a climate of compliance that meets international standards and secures the integrity of the BVI financial services industry.
This enhanced and improved regulatory regime complements the BVI’s current robust international cooperation framework and effectively provides a sufficient check against the activities of persons involved in financial crimes. The BVI’s current legislative arsenal of protection from financial crime now includes the Drug Trafficking Offences Act, 1992, Proceeds of Criminal Conduct Act, 1997, Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, 2008, Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Code of Practice, 2008 and the Non-financial Business (Designation) Notice, 2008.
For further information on the Code or BVI’s International Cooperation Handbook, please visit the FSC’s website: www.bvifsc.vg and utilize these links:
Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Code of Practice,
BVI’s International Cooperation Handbook
About the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission
The BVI Financial Services Commission is an autonomous regulatory agency responsible for the regulation and supervision of financial services conducted in and from within the Territory.
The Registry of Corporate Affairs is a division within the BVI Financial Services Commission that administers the BVI Business Companies Act.