BVI FINANCE SEEKS TO REASSURE JITTERY BVI COMPANY PURCHASERS; WILL IT WORK, OR IS IT TOO LATE ?

(THE FOLLOWING IS A PRESS RELEASE, NOT A NEWS ARTICLE)

TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, April 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 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. Fahieand 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.

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As you can see from the above press release, BVI Finance, the government agency that acts as a cheerleader for British Virgin Islands' corporate service providers, who in turn pay over significant fees to government, is trying to instill confidence in  current, and potential,  BVI company purchaser customers.

 The arrest, in the United States, of the territory's leader, former BVI Premier Andrew Fahie, has sent a shock wave throughout the Caribbean, mainly because Fahie, in a desperate ploy to mitigate what promises to be a 20-year Federal prison sentence, is disclosing all he knows about other corrupt Caribbean government leaders, who are now themselves feeling threatened, for obvious reasons. Those who have the most to fear from his cooperation seem to be the loudest in their support for Fahie, notwithstanding the strength of the apparent evidence against him. They may vey well join him in the dock at a future date, which is scaring them to their corrupt core.

 BVI government officials fear that the negative news about their territory about Fahie's brazen criminal conduct may effect  their BVI company product to those foreign attorneys, accountants, bankers, and other professionals abroad who who have been eager consumers of the corporations, with their zero per cent (0%) effective tax rate, and absolute secrecy regarding the names of corporate directors. It has been the "Golden Goose" for BVI government cash flow.

Whether the reputation of the BVI has taken such a hit as to cause corporation purchasers to shop elsewhere we cannot say, but as the Fahie criminal case continues to splash negative news across global media, with other possible arrests in the distinct realm of possibility, including additional British Virgin Islanders, we wonder whether the marketability of the BVI company itself is to become an endangered species ?