The British Virgin Islands (BVI) government has published draft regulations setting out the conditions under which third parties will be able to access personal information held in its central register of beneficial ownership.
The register, which came into operation on 2 January, is now hosted on a new system called VIRRGIN. It contains the information previously collected and maintained by the beneficial ownership secure search system platform since 2017 and all new information filed from now on. New companies and limited partnerships must provide the information within 30 days of incorporation, registration or continuation. Existing companies and limited partnerships must do so by the end of a six-month transition period, by 2 July 2025.
The BVI has agreed to make some of the information available to members of the public who can demonstrate a 'legitimate interest' under specific circumstances. No international standard exists for this function and the BVI has drafted its own specifications.
These specifications are set out in draft form in the new consultation document, Rights of access to the register of beneficial ownership for BVI business companies and limited partnerships. It defines 'legitimate interest' as 'a demonstrable, specific and lawful need to access information from the register in order to investigate, prevent or detect money laundering, terrorist financing, proliferation financing or other serious financial crime; or assist in ongoing legal proceedings or regulatory investigations related to financial crime.'
This definition potentially includes journalists, civil society organisations and academic institutions that have no official standing, as well as regulated financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions. The document explicitly states that persons 'eligible' to make a claim for 'legitimate interest' includes 'persons acting for the purpose of journalism, reporting, or any form of expression in the media', and 'non-governmental organisations and academic institutions involved in bona fide research or advocacy related to AML/CFT/CPF [anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing or counter-proliferation financing] efforts and who require access for the purposes of such research or advocacy.'
However, the draft also restricts claims for 'legitimate interest' to the following circumstances:
Obliged entities: financial institutions or other entities subject to AML/CFT/CPF obligations under the BVI AML/CFT/CPF legislation, for the purpose of conducting investigations or satisfying client due-diligence obligations.
Criminal or regulatory proceedings: access may be granted when a legal entity or individual connected with the entity is involved in criminal or regulatory proceedings related to money laundering.
Legal proceedings: parties involved in criminal litigation, whether in the BVI or elsewhere, may access the register where the relevant court determines that the information is pertinent to the proceedings and access would assist in resolving the case.
Moreover, the document also provides beneficial owners with a number of ways to apply for an exemption from having their information disclosed under the 'legitimate interest' access rules. These are:
Where the beneficial owner reasonably considers that disclosure would expose them or any individual to a disproportionate or serious risk (such as political, religious or sexual persecution or discrimination, fraud, kidnapping, blackmail, extortion, harassment, violence or intimidation).
Where the beneficial owner is a minor or otherwise legally incapacitated or where the rights of an individual other than the beneficial owner who is a minor or legally incapacitated could be impacted by the disclosure.
Where, upon application, the Registrar of Corporate Affairs determines that a particular disclosure of beneficial ownership information is against the public interest in that non-disclosure outweighs the benefits of disclosure.
Whenever a request for legitimate interest disclosure is made, the relevant entity's beneficial owners will be notified of it through the legal entity's registered agent and will be able to object. They will be told the name of the requesting person and the purpose of the request. They will then have five business days to submit their objections, giving reasons. Even if the registrar rejects this objection, the beneficial owner will still have further rights to appeal. Furthermore, information on beneficial owners who hold less than 25 per cent of an entity will not be disclosed, although the register contains details of all those who hold 10 per cent or more.
The deadline for comments is 28 February 2025. The government is particularly interested in feedback on the proposed definition of 'legitimate interest' and the provisions for protecting at-risk individuals.
Source：【2025/01/20 STEP 國際新聞】