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UK agrees to ‘only legitimate interests access’ to VI’s company registers

-Premier Wheatley said it was a victory for VI while in London
Premier Dr the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) speaking to Acting Director of Communications Karia J. Christopher in an interview on Friday, November 22, 2024, in London. Photo: Office of the Premier
Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley (R7), right, has reported that the Virgin Islands’ delegation had a successful trip to the United Kingdom (UK), where the main event was the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) Meeting held from November 21-22, 2024. Photo: Office of the Premier
Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley (R7), right, has reported that the Virgin Islands’ delegation had a successful trip to the United Kingdom (UK), where the main event was the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) Meeting held from November 21-22, 2024. Photo: Office of the Premier
LONDON, United Kingdom- The Virgin Islands, along with other Overseas Territories (OTs), in 2020 committed to implementing Public Registers of Beneficial Ownership by the end of 2023, providing it was a global standard.

In November 2022; however, the European Union Court of Justice ruled that registers containing the personal details of the owners of a company and accessible to the general public is an infringement of fundamental rights of privacy and personal data protection.

Nevertheless, the UK continued to push their Overseas Territories to implement public registers, even though the UK was no longer a part of the European Union (EU).

Now comes news that the Overseas Territories, while at the Joint Ministerial Conference (JMC) in London last week, were able to secure an agreement with the United Kingdom to introduce Registers of Beneficial Ownership on a legitimate interest access basis.

This has been hailed as a “good victory” by Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley (R7), who holds the portfolio for financial services.

“We know that the United Kingdom government, in previous parliaments, they pushed for full public registers.

“And we were resolute that we couldn’t do the full registers because of concerns on privacy and our constitutional rights. So that was a real victory for us here. That was one of the areas we were able to conciliate on,” Premier Wheatley disclosed to Acting Director of Communications Karia J. Christopher in an interview on Friday, November 22, 2024, in London.

‘We came back with the goods’- Premier

The Premier was commenting on some of the successes of attending the JMC.

“So right now we would be having only legitimate interest access to our registers, in line with our constitutional obligations,” Dr Wheatley said.

The Premier also said the OTs, including the Virgin Islands, were able to “secure a lot” as it pertains to climate resilience as well as constitutional advancements.

“We were able to deliver a lot for the BVI. It wasn’t just a trip it was a trip where we came back with the goods,” Dr Wheatley stated.

6 Responses to “UK agrees to ‘only legitimate interests access’ to VI’s company registers”

  • asking for a friend (26/11/2024, 08:54) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    a victory with the order in council still over our heads?
  • Mmh (26/11/2024, 09:23) Like (0) Dislike (1) Reply
    We have to move away from this. It is harder and harder to tell the difference between a terrorist organization and a terrorist government. Who is going to pick and choose for us?

    End the war on drugs, stop supporting this black list because nations accused of genocide are able to do business while nations accused of relocating children out of harms way are black listed. This reminds me of them saying black people have no soul as a means to take what they want. Who decided who has a soul or not?
  • Rahden (26/11/2024, 10:10) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    This is great news.
  • Please define (26/11/2024, 10:18) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    'legitimate interest access basis' because this phrase is so vague that the Public Register of Beneficial Ownership for BVI companies would actually deny access to the public.
  • BuzzBvi (26/11/2024, 13:16) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    I would be interested to see who benefits from some of these entities. I am pretty sure my interest is legitimate as would be any one in the public who wanted to see this information. We also want to see Govenment Accounting for their actions and spending. We don't get to see that either. Business as usual for corrupt entities and politicians I guess. Not much of a Victory for the people of the VI who need protection from this Natalial regime.
  • guy hill (26/11/2024, 19:08) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    What makes an interest legitimate? There are malicious people out there just being that.


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