By Chris McKenzie and Akita Alexander-Mercer
Trusts & Trustees, published by Oxford University Press, June 20, 2025
Following the Caribbean Financial Task Force’s Mutual Evaluation Report, a number of changes to the British Virgin Islands’ (BVI) trust and corporate legislation have been made with a view to ensuring that (a) trustees retain and maintain accurate and up-to-date beneficial ownership information and, perhaps more significantly (b) records relating to the beneficial owners of BVI companies are placed on a non-public register.
The information relating to BVI companies which needs to be placed on the register includes details of individuals who own or control 10% or more of the shares or voting rights in the company and, in the case of shares held by trustees of trusts which are not exempt, details relating to trustees, settlors, protectors and beneficiaries with vested interests. The register will be maintained by the BVI Registrar of Corporate Affairs and will be available for inspection by regulators, law enforcement agencies and, it is expected, those who are regarded as having a “legitimate interest.” In the case of trusts which have regulated trustees, ie those which hold licences under BVI legislation, only the name of the trustee will need to be placed on the register provided that the trustee is able to provide the relevant information within 24 hours of being required to do so by the Registrar. Free Access Link to Complete Article can be found here.
