The British Virgin Islands' (BVI) success in meeting the highest international standards of regulatory compliance has been confirmed with recent recognition from a major international standard-setting body focused on taxation, anti-money laundering and effective regulation.
The BVI was amongst those moved to the EU's list of fully cooperative tax jurisdictions on 18 February. Recent amendments to the BVI Securities and Investment Business Act, 2010 requiring closed-ended funds to be recognized by the BVI Financial Services Commission satisfied the EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) that the BVI has implemented "all the necessary reforms to comply with EU tax good governance principles".
According to the last Mutual Evaluation Report relating to the implementation of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards in the BVI undertaken by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the BVI was deemed Largely Compliant with the FATF 40 + 9 Recommendations. The report concluded that the BVI has maintained a robust public policy commitment to ensuring that it plays its part in the global fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The EU recognition and excellent FATF assessment confirm that the BVI continues to be a world-class international financial centre committed to high international standards on transparency and regulation and a neutral, business-friendly jurisdiction for international investment, mergers and trade and capital flows.
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