BVI Handbook on International Co-operation and Information Exchange (Revised June 2013)

Summary

This is a guidance handbook, first published in 2007 and revised in June 2013, explaining the legal and institutional framework the British Virgin Islands uses for international cooperation and information exchange. It is written for regulators, judicial officers and law enforcement officials (both domestic and foreign) rather than for the general public, and it describes existing mutual legal assistance regimes, the FSC's powers, and the treaties and bodies the BVI works with. It does not itself create new law; it summarises and explains regimes established under separate legislation.

• Treaties and bodies: Surveys key UN conventions (drug trafficking, terrorism financing, transnational organised crime, corruption) and institutional initiatives (FATF, IMF, CFATF, IOSCO, OECD, IAIS, GIFCS) that shape BVI cooperation obligations.
• Mutual legal assistance regime: Explains the BVI's legislative history and current framework for providing assistance in criminal matters, civil/commercial evidence-taking, and money laundering and terrorism financing cases.
• FSC cooperation with foreign regulators: Describes the Financial Services Commission's duty to cooperate with foreign regulatory authorities, its powers to request documents and information from persons in the BVI, its power to examine a person under oath, and the protections and restrictions that apply to disclosure of information obtained.
• Tax information exchange: Sets out the regime for mutual legal assistance in tax matters under negotiated tax information exchange agreements, including conditions precedent to providing assistance and grounds for declining a request.
• Request handling procedures: Provides practical guidance on addressing, transmitting and executing requests for legal assistance, including designated central authorities (Governor's Office, Attorney General, Financial Secretary, FSC, Financial Investigation Agency, High Court Registry) and how disputes between central authorities and requests lacking information are handled.

Because this is explanatory guidance rather than a standalone statute or directive, most of its content describes powers and processes that regulators and courts already exercise under separate BVI legislation, rather than imposing new, independently enforceable duties on regulated businesses.

Key obligations

• A request for legal assistance to a BVI central authority must be properly dated and signed and must emanate from a relevant requesting authority
• If a request for legal assistance is missing required information, the requesting authority must supply the missing information before any action is taken on the request
• Persons in the BVI may be required to produce documents and information to the FSC in connection with a request for assistance from a foreign regulatory authority
• A person may be examined under oath by the FSC in connection with a request for regulatory assistance

Applies to

financial services licensees, regulated entities in the British Virgin Islands, foreign regulatory authorities, financial institutions, central authorities (Governor's Office, Attorney General, Financial Secretary, FSC, Financial Investigation Agency, High Court Registry)