Neither the publication of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) report into the governance of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), nor the recent US arrests of Premier Andrew A. Fahie and others, should be conflated with the BVI financial services sector, which is operationally independent.
BVI Governor John Rankin confirmed again when announcing details of the COI report today that this was "not an investigation into the BVI's financial services sector" and offered his "continued support for the work of the BVI's Commercial Court, the Financial Services Commission and other regulatory bodies that continue to operate as normal acting in accordance with international regulatory standards and a robust English Common Law framework."
The Governor went on to welcome the BVI's "continued good cooperation with law enforcement agencies in the financial (services) field and the steps being taken with regard to the introduction of publicly accessible beneficial ownership registers."
BVI Finance welcomes these remarks and the jurisdiction will continue to offer its products and services as a respected world-class international financial centre.