It was established in 2001 pursuant to the Financial Services Commission Act, 2001.[2] The commission now oversees all regulatory responsibilities previously handled by the government through its Financial Services Department; protecting the independence of financial services regulation and fulfilling international commitments to the prevention of international white collar crime while safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of legitimate business transactions.[3]
The commission also has new responsibilities including promoting public understanding of the financial system and its products, policing the perimeter of regulated activity, reducing financial crime and preventing market abuse.[3]
The British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission launched its Asia representative office in Hong Kong in April 2014 as part of a broader effort to support business development in the Asia Pacific Region.[4]
Governance
The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners is Mr Robin Gaul, who qualified as an accountant in the United Kingdom in 1967, was a partner of KPMG and had served on various boards and committees in the BVI public sector including the Development Bank of the Virgin Islands and the BVI Electricity Corporation. Mr Gaul was appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Inaugural Board of the Financial Services Commission in 2002 and chairman of the board in May, 2006.[5]
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Services Commission is Robert Mathavious, who has held that position since the formation of the commission. Prior to that Mr Mathavious worked for 25 years as a civil servant.[5] In 2013 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies.[6]
The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and north-west of Anguilla. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles and part of the West Indies.
The economy of the British Virgin Islands is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean. Although tiny in absolute terms, because of the very small population of the British Virgin Islands, in 2010 the Territory had the 19th highest GDP per capita in the world according to the CIA World factbook. In global terms the size of the Territory's GDP measured in terms of purchasing power is ranked as 215th out of a total of 229 countries. The economy of the Territory is based upon the "twin pillars" of financial services, which generates approximately 60% of government revenues, and tourism, which generates nearly all of the rest.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in 1985. Its board was appointed by the Treasury, although it operated independently of government. It was structured as a company limited by guarantee and was funded entirely by fees charged to the financial services industry.
The term "offshore company" or "offshore corporation" is used in at least two distinct and different ways. An offshore company may be a reference to:
Tortola is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of 55.7 square kilometres with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in Road Town. Mount Sage is its highest point at 530 metres above sea level.
Axel Alfred Weber is a German economist, professor, and banker. He is currently a board member and chairman of Swiss investment bank and financial services company, UBS Group AG, and has announced his resignation effective 7 April 2022.
Harney Westwood & Riegels is a global offshore law firm that provides advice on British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Bermuda and Anguilla law to an international client base that includes law firms, financial institutions, investment funds, and private individuals. They have locations in major financial centers across Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Caribbean.
Sir William James Lynton Blair is a British retired judge. He was previously a Queen's Counsel at London barristers' chambers 3 Verulam Buildings, specialising in domestic and international banking and finance law. He is the elder brother of Sir Tony Blair, the former British prime minister.
Cherno Sulayman Jallow is a Gambian lawyer and judge who serves as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Gambia. He previously served as Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands from 1999 to 2007.
The law of the British Virgin Islands is a combination of common law and statute, and is based heavily upon English law.
The BVI Business Companies Act is the principal statute of the British Virgin Islands relating to British Virgin Islands company law, regulating both offshore companies and local companies. It replaced the extremely popular and highly successful International Business Companies Act. It came into force on 1 January 2005.
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), a key regulator of the power sector in India, is a statutory body functioning with quasi-judicial status under sec – 76 of the Electricity Act 2003. CERC was initially constituted on 24 July 1998 under the Ministry of Power's Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998 for rationalization of electricity tariffs, transparent policies regarding subsidies, promotion of efficient and environmentally benign policies, and for matters connected Electricity Tariff regulation. CERC was instituted primarily to regulate the tariff of power generating companies owned or controlled by the Government of India, and any other generating company which has a composite scheme for power generation and interstate transmission of energy, including tariffs of generating companies.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, better known as CySEC, is the financial regulatory agency of Cyprus. As an EU member state, CySEC's financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.
The British Virgin Islands company law is the law that governs businesses registered in the British Virgin Islands. It is primarily codified through the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004, and to a lesser extent by the Insolvency Act, 2003 and by the Securities and Investment Business Act, 2010. The British Virgin Islands has approximately 30 registered companies per head of population, which is likely the highest ratio of any country in the world. Annual company registration fees provide a significant part of Government revenue in the British Virgin Islands, which accounts for the comparative lack of other taxation. This might explain why company law forms a much more prominent part of the law of the British Virgin Islands when compared to countries of similar size.
The National Health Insurance scheme is a form of national health insurance established by the Government of the British Virgin Islands through the Ministry of Health, with a goal to provide access to and financial coverage for health care services to British Virgin Islands residents. A National Health Insurance scheme was first considered in 2006, but it took over a decade to come to fruition. It eventually came into effect on 1 January 2016.
The Anguillan Financial Services Commission is an autonomous regulatory authority responsible for the regulation, supervision and inspection of all financial services in and from within Anguilla, including insurance, banking, trustee business, company management, mutual funds business as well as the registration of companies, limited partnerships, intellectual property and ships.
Arbitration in the British Virgin Islands is regulated principally by the Arbitration Act, 2013 which came into force on 1 October 2014. Prior to that date, arbitration was regulated by the Arbitration Cap, 1976.
Dame Amanda Anne Milling is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Cannock Chase since the 2015 general election. She served as Minister without Portfolio in the UK cabinet and, alongside Ben Elliot, as Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party from February 2020 to September 2021. She also served as Minister of State for Asia and the Middle East from September 2021 to September 2022. She previously worked in market research.
Events from the year 2017 in the British Virgin Islands.
Robert Anderson Mathavious served as Acting Governor of the British Virgin Islands from December 22 to December 29, 2017. He also served as Acting Governor in June and July 2016 and August 2017. He also served as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the BVI Financial Services Commission.
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