BVI Premier Speaks about Territory’s Financial Services Industry

In a media release published on May 9, 2016, BVI Premier Dr D Orlando Smith said to the people and businesses of the British Virgin Islands that they must not worry about the uncertainty regarding the financial services industry in the jurisdiction. The statement came just before the UK government’s major Anti-Corruption Summit particularly devoted to financial services. 

The Premier and Minister of finance of the British Virgin Islands said: “... the midst of today’s uncertain environment, our financial services industry remains strong and our commitment to it is rock solid. We are one of the world’s leading financial centres and will continue to be so for the future… In partnership with industry, we remain focused on what matters most – creating value for all industry stakeholders including businesses, investors, service providers and the people of the BVI.” 

At the same time, the leaked documents of the Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca proved that the BVI was the single largest jurisdiction for company registrations and questionable operations of the law firm. The BVI government has said it was not aware of anything on the part of Mossack Fonseca, and ordered a “thorough investigation” on this case. About 60 per cent of BVI annual revenues come from financial services sector.