BVI Financial Management Agreement with UK Considered to be Amended

BVI Premier Andrew Fahie said that it is possible that borrowing restrictions placed on the territory in the Protocols for Effective Financial Management agreement between the BVI and the UK could be waived in case the BVI territory suffers from major natural disaster or catastrophe. The financial agreement, which was signed in 2012 and is currently in force, prohibits the BVI government from borrowing more than 80 per cent of its recurring revenue, but the UK is prepared to consider this through a “natural disaster clause”.

Andrew Fahie noted that making provisions in the agreement for disasters was one of of the things the BVI wanted to discuss, during recent negotiations with the UK about its loan guarantee offer. The Premier commented on the raised concerns: “The UK government stated to us that it is prepared to consider including a reference to natural disasters and catastrophic events in the debt section of the Protocols for Effective Financial Management.” 

In his speech addressing members of the media, Premier Fahie said that, based on the territory’s geographical location, the BVI is not only susceptible to hurricanes, but also to other disasters such as earthquakes, and in case they impact the territory to a high degree, the BVI might need to borrow extensively to rebuild, like in case of hurricanes Irma and Maria.

BVI and Seychelles Sign Multilateral Competent Authorities Agreement

According to the new update by OECD, the British Virgin Islands and Seychelles have signed up to the Multilateral Competent Authorities Agreement (MCAA) on country-by-country reporting. The BVI signed up to the pact on July 7, 2019, and Seychelles joined the agreement two days later. 

Country-by-country (CbC) reporting is a standard which requires the disclosure by large multinational groups of some basic items of financial data, usually in each country where the parent is located. Collected information includes the amount of revenue reported, profit before income tax, and income tax paid and accrued, as well as the stated capital, accumulated earnings, number of employees, and tangible assets. The OECD developed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of CbC Reports, enabling their automatic exchange.

According to the OECD's update in the end of August 2019, a total of 82 territories have now signed up to automatically exchange CbC reports.

BVI Premier Responded to Letter by Director of UK OTs

BVI Premier Andrew Fahie has denied claims by Ben Merrick, the Director of British Overseas Territories, that his government caused deterioration of engagements between the UK and the BVI territory.

The UK official representative expressed his disappointment about the administration of Fahie’s government after cancellation of some important meetings, including that with UK minister responsible for Overseas Territories, Lord Tariq Ahmad. In response to the letter which was addressed to the Premier and became public, the Premier confirmed that he and his government have consistently been in contact with the United Kingdom. Fahie also said he believes Merrick’s letter of ‘untrue accusations’ had a purpose to damage his reputation as Premier.

The Premier further said that he and local delegation had met with Lord Ahmad in the Cayman Islands in June 2019, and discussed different areas that they’ve been working on. He noted that they had made it clear to the UK after being elected that the Fahie administration was a new government that needed to do research to ensure it was fully knowledgeable about the loan guarantee, and said that they needed some time to do that.