Following the removal of the Cayman Islands from the Financial Action Task Force's list of "jurisdictions under increased monitoring" in October 2023, on 12 December 2023, the European Commission adopted the Commission...more
Following the conclusion of the most recent plenary of the Financial Action Task Force ("FATF") on 27 October 2023, the FATF has announced that the Cayman Islands has been removed from the FATF's list of "jurisdictions under...more
It is standard practice for lenders in financing transactions to request legal opinions from counsel in each jurisdiction in which a transaction entity is established or under which law transaction documents are governed. Set...more
The Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) Act, as amended (the "ESA"), requires BVI legal entities which engage in relevant activities to maintain economic substance in the BVI. Our 'Overview of the British...more
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) government has succeeded in its request for a supplementary review to more accurately reflect its current legislative status following the EU's decision last month to add the BVI to its list...more
The BVI Virtual Asset Service Providers Act (VASP Act) came into force on 1 February, providing clarity and certainty on the regulatory landscape for virtual asset services (VASPs) operating in or from within the BVI. ...more
2/20/2023
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
British Virgin Islands ,
BVI Business Companies ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
New Legislation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Terrorism Funding
The EU has announced it is has added the British Virgin Islands (BVI) to its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. The BVI Government has since issued a statement highlighting that it has already introduced...more
The British Virgin Islands ("BVI") Data Protection Act, 2021 ("DPA") came into force on 9 July 2021. It was introduced so the BVI would have a data protection framework which is broadly similar to EU and UK standards. To...more
2/9/2023
/ BVI Business Companies ,
Data Breach ,
Data Integrity ,
Data Processors ,
Data Protection ,
Data Retention ,
Data Security ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
International Data Transfers ,
New Regulations ,
Personal Data ,
UK
The following BVI legislative supplements to the Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act (“MLA Act”) and the International Tax Authority Act (“ITA Act”) were gazetted on 13 June 2022:
The Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax...more
10/18/2022
/ BVI Business Companies ,
Common Reporting Standard (CRS) ,
Compliance ,
Duty to Cooperate ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FATCA ,
Inspections ,
International Tax Authority ,
Ministry of Finance ,
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLAT) ,
Request For Information
The Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System (Amendment) (No.2) Act, 2021 (“Amendment Act”) was gazetted in the BVI on 31 December 2021 and came into force on 1 January 2022. The Amendment Act amends the BVI’s Beneficial...more
BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act revisions effective 1 January 2023 -
The BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act, 2022 (“BCA Amendment Act”) which amends the BVI Business Companies Act, as amended (the “BCA”) was...more
BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act revisions effective 1 January 2023 -
The BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act, 2022 (“BCA Amendment Act”) which amends the BVI Business Companies Act, as amended (the “BCA”) was...more
As part of our five year anniversary celebrations of our law firm opening in Bermuda, we put together the original version of this summary report highlighting the latest developments and trends in the Bermuda legal and...more
7/28/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bermuda ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) ,
EU ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Entities ,
Hong Kong ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurtech ,
Investment ,
Jurisdiction ,
Reinsurance ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Restructuring ,
Stock Exchange ,
Trusts