The Virgin Islands is one of the most regulated financial services jurisdictions in the world. Photo: VINO/File

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture Dr the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) said, despite the constant critique of the sitting government for passing many pieces of legislation, he believes they should be praised for their hard work in keeping the territory’s laws up to date. Photo: VINO/File

The Virgin Islands will be evaluated by the Financial Action Task Force (FAFT) soon, Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1) has said. Photo: VINO/File

“We have been bringing lots of legislation to the House of Assembly to strengthen our legislative framework and to ensure that our financial services jurisdiction is protected against terrorist financing and financing for things like weapons of mass destruction and things like that. We want to ensure that we discourage any entity from seeking to use our companies to participate in such illicit behaviour,” he said while supporting the passage of the Proliferation Financing Prohibition Act 2021 at the 8th Sitting of the 3rd Session of the 4th House of Assembly (HoA) on May 6, 2021.

“As we have said in this HoA on many different occasions, we are one of the best-regulated jurisdictions in the world and keeping pace with these legislative changes and being able to implement changes in good time, to demonstrate compliance with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in anticipation of our evaluation during the second quarter of next year I believe, we are being responsible as legislators and as a territory. I won’t tire of saying it: we ought to be applauded, the Attorney General, the Premier, the financial services jurisdiction and the Financial Investigation Agency and all the different agencies that have come together to ensure we do what we have to do to strengthen our regulations and our governance are to be applauded for their efforts,” he added.

Dr Wheatley said although “some persons have chosen to criticise us for it, but I am not sure whether those same persons will still criticise us if we don’t do well on our evaluation.”

VI to be evaluated by FATF soon- Premier Fahie

The VI will be evaluated by FAFT soon, Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1) explained. 

“The amendment is geared towards ensuring that the territory fulfils its international obligation of combatting money laundering and terrorism financing and the Financial Investigation Authority (FIA)’s rule of safeguarding the activities against money laundering and terrorist financing and proliferation financing would be further enhanced.”

He said it was of utmost importance that the VI is in compliance to avoid making it to the list of blacklisted countries after the evaluation and to ensure that the territory’s regulatory regime is robust enough to defend against financial crime and international crime.

The Proliferation Financing Prohibition Act 2021 went into committee to be scrutinised before it is passed.