Anti-Money Laundering Rules (BVI)

Legal Rules 

• Proceeds of Criminal Conduct Act, 1st Jan 2020 [read]
• Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 [read]
• Anti-Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing Code of Practice, 1st Jan 2020 [read]

 

Preliminary to the Virgin Islands Anti-Money Laundering And Terrorist Financing Code Of Practice

 

(i) This Code is issued pursuant to section 27 (1) of the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct and as such assumes the form of subsidiary legislation. Under subsection (2) of that section, the Code is required to be published in the Gazette and be subjected to a negative resolution of the House of Assembly. This Code is issued by the Commission and comes into force on the same date the Anti-money Laundering Regulations is brought into operation. Once gazetted, the Code is required to be laid before the House of Assembly (and thus subject to a negative resolution) in accordance with the requirements of the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct Act. The Code remains in force until it is annulled by the House of Assembly within a period of forty days following its laying before the House of Assembly; if no resolution is brought to annul the Code, it continues in force until revoked or replaced.

(ii) As a subsidiary legislation, this Code has the force of law and is enforceable against any person (natural or legal) to whom it applies.

 

Definition: Beneficial Owner (Controlling Person)

 

Section 2 of the Anti-money Laundering Regulations provides that

“beneficial owner" means the natural person who ultimately owns or controls an applicant for business or a customer or on whose behalf a transaction or activity is being conducted and includes, though not restricted to –

1. in the case of a legal person other than a company whose securities are listed on a recognised stock exchange, a natural person who ultimately owns or controls, whether directly or indirectly, ten or more percent of the shares or voting rights in the legal person;
2. in the case of a legal person, a natural person who otherwise exercises control over the management of the legal person; and
3. in the case of a legal arrangement – ​(i) the partner or partners who control the partnership; (ii) the trustee or another person who controls the applicant for business or customer; or (iii) the settlor or other person by whom the legal arrangement is made;”

 

Recognized Jurisdictions are subject to less CDD Measures

 

In schedule 2 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Code of Practice 2018 (AMLTFCP), the British Virgin Islands have recognised a list of jurisdictions (commonly called the "recognised jurisdictions") that adopt laws and regulations similar to that of the BVI. The main advantage of placing reliance on Schedule 2 of the AMLTFCP is that business emanating from the recognised jurisdictions would generally attract the application of reduced client due diligence (CDD) measures.