The government of the British Virgin Islands has announced a legal challenge to the provision in the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 obliging the UK government to impose publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership on any British overseas territory failing to introduce such a register by 31 December 2020.
BVI premier and minister of finance, Orlando Smith, said in a statement that imposition of public registers raises ‘serious constitutional and human rights issues’. The BVI government’s position is that it will not introduce public registers ‘until they become a global standard’.
The BVI government has appointed Withers to take the case, with Dan Sarooshi QC of Essex Court Chambers and law professor at the University of Oxford as leading counsel, assisted by BVI constitutional lawyer Gerard Farara QC.
The Cayman Islands premier, Alden McLaughlin, has met with Foreign and Commonwealth Office minister, Lord Ahmad, to discuss changes to the territory’s constitution in response to the beneficial ownership legislation. Among the changes sought is confirmation of the ‘absolute’ power of internal self-governance, provided the Cayman Islands are not in breach of international standards.
The government of the British Virgin Islands has announced a legal challenge to the provision in the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 obliging the UK government to impose publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership on any British overseas territory failing to introduce such a register by 31 December 2020.
BVI premier and minister of finance, Orlando Smith, said in a statement that imposition of public registers raises ‘serious constitutional and human rights issues’. The BVI government’s position is that it will not introduce public registers ‘until they become a global standard’.
The BVI government has appointed Withers to take the case, with Dan Sarooshi QC of Essex Court Chambers and law professor at the University of Oxford as leading counsel, assisted by BVI constitutional lawyer Gerard Farara QC.
The Cayman Islands premier, Alden McLaughlin, has met with Foreign and Commonwealth Office minister, Lord Ahmad, to discuss changes to the territory’s constitution in response to the beneficial ownership legislation. Among the changes sought is confirmation of the ‘absolute’ power of internal self-governance, provided the Cayman Islands are not in breach of international standards.
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