Proliferation Financing (Prohibition) Act, 2009 (No. 15 of 2009)

Summary

This is the BVI's Proliferation Financing (Prohibition) Act, 2009 (No. 15 of 2009), which empowers the Financial Investigation Agency (the Agency) to issue directions against persons, countries or businesses linked to proliferation financing, terrorist financing or money laundering. It does not itself impose blanket obligations on all financial businesses; rather it creates a framework under which specific or general directions can trigger enhanced due diligence, monitoring, reporting and business-restriction duties for the persons targeted.

• Who can be directed: Directions may be given to a particular person operating in the financial sector, a class of such persons, or all persons operating in the financial sector, in relation to a specified country.
• Enhanced due diligence: A direction may require enhanced customer due diligence before and during a business relationship with a designated person, including identity verification, source-of-funds enquiries and risk assessment.
• Enhanced ongoing monitoring: A direction may require relevant persons to keep due-diligence information up to date and scrutinise transactions with designated persons.
• Systematic reporting: A direction may require relevant persons to provide specified information or documents on transactions or business relationships with designated persons, to a specified recipient and within a specified period or at specified intervals.
• Restricting or ceasing business: A direction may prohibit a relevant person from entering into or continuing specified transactions or business relationships with a designated person; the Agency may license exemptions from such restrictions.
• Information and inspection powers: Enforcement officers may require relevant persons to provide information or documents, and may enter and inspect premises (with or without a warrant in specified circumstances) to check compliance.
• Enforcement: Failure to comply with a direction's requirements can lead to civil penalties or criminal offences, with liability extending to officers of bodies corporate and unincorporated associations.

General directions (orders affecting classes or all persons in the financial sector) must be publicised and, if they contain business-restriction requirements, laid before the House of Assembly for approval; both general orders and specific directions to a particular person automatically lapse after one year unless renewed, varied or revoked earlier by the Agency. The Commission and the Agency are jointly tasked with monitoring compliance by persons operating in the financial sector.

Key obligations

• A relevant person subject to a direction must undertake the enhanced customer due diligence measures specified in that direction before and during any business relationship with a designated person
• A relevant person subject to a direction must undertake the enhanced ongoing monitoring of business relationships with designated persons as specified
• A relevant person subject to a direction must provide the information and documents required by a systematic reporting requirement, to the person and within the period or intervals specified in the direction
• A relevant person subject to a direction must not enter into or continue the transactions or business relationships with a designated person that the direction restricts or prohibits, unless exempted by an Agency licence
• A relevant person must comply with an enforcement officer's notice requiring information or production of documents connected with the Agency's functions under the Act
• A relevant person must permit entry and inspection by enforcement officers exercising powers under the Act, subject to the Act's restrictions on those powers

Applies to

persons operating in the financial sector, relevant persons (persons to whom a direction is given), designated persons

Deadlines

• one year from the day the direction is given: A specific direction to a particular person ceases to have effect after one year unless previously revoked, varied or renewed
• one year from the day the order was made: A general order containing directions ceases to have effect after one year unless previously revoked, varied or renewed
• 28 days from the date of laying before the House: An order containing business-restriction requirements (section 10) ceases to have effect if the House of Assembly does not approve it within this period