英屬維京群島（BVI）政府已發布法規草案，規定第三方在何種條件下可以存取其受益所有權中央登記冊中保存的個人資訊。
該登記冊於1月2日開始運行，目前由名為VIRRGIN的新系統託管。它包含自2017 年以來受益所有權安全搜尋系統平台收集和維護的資訊以及從現在起提交的所有新資訊。新公司和有限合夥必須在成立、註冊或存續後 30 天內提供資訊。現有公司和有限合夥必須在六個月的過渡期結束前（即2025年 7月2日）完成上述手續。
英屬維京群島同意向在特定情況下能夠證明具有「合法利益」的公眾提供部分資訊。此功能尚無國際標準，英屬維京群島已起草了自己的規範。
這些規範以草案形式載於新的諮詢文件《英屬維京群島商業公司與有限合夥企業查閱受益所有權登記冊的權利》。它將「合法利益」定義為「為了調查、防止或發現洗錢、恐怖主義融資、擴散融資或其他嚴重金融犯罪，從登記冊中獲取資訊的可證明的、具體的和合法的需要；或協助正在進行的與金融犯罪有關的法律訴訟或監管調查。
這項定義可能包括沒有官方地位的記者、民間組織和學術機構，以及受監管的金融機構和指定的非金融企業和職業。該文件明確指出，有資格提出“合法利益”主張的人包括“以新聞、報道或任何形式的媒體表達為目的行事的人”，以及“參與其中的非政府組織和學術機構”。 /CFT/CPF [反洗錢、反恐融資或反擴散融資] 工作相關的真實研究或宣傳，並且需要出於此類研究或宣傳目的訪問這些信息的人。
然而，草案也將「合法利益」的主張限制在以下情況：
• 義務實體：依據英屬維京群島反洗錢/反恐怖融資/中央公積金法例，為進行調查或履行客戶盡職調查義務而受反洗錢/反恐怖融資/中央公積金法例約束的金融機構或其他實體。
• 刑事或監管程序：當法人實體或與實體有關聯的個人涉及與洗錢相關的刑事或監管程序時，可能會授予存取權限。
• 法律訴訟：無論是在英屬維京群島或其他地方，涉及刑事訴訟的當事人人均可查閱登記冊，只要相關法院認為該資訊與訴訟程序相關且查閱有助於解決案件。
此外，該文件還為受益所有人提供了多種方式，申請免於根據「合法利益」存取規則披露其資訊。這些都是：
• 受益所有人合理地認為揭露可能使其或任何個人面臨不成比例或嚴重的風險（例如政治、宗教或性迫害或歧視、欺詐、綁架、勒索、敲詐、騷擾、暴力或恐嚇）。
• 當受益所有人是未成年人或喪失法律行為能力的人時，或當受益所有人以外的未成年人或喪失法律行為能力的個人的權利可能受到揭露的影響時。
• 經申請，公司事務註冊處處長認定某項實際所有權資訊的揭露違反公眾利益，因為不揭露大於揭露的好處。
每當提出合法利益揭露請求時，相關實體的受益所有人將透過法人實體的註冊代理人收到通知，並可以提出反對。他們將被告知請求人的姓名和請求的目的。他們將有五個工作天的時間提交反對意見並說明理由。即使註冊官駁回該異議，實際上受益所有人仍然有進一步上訴的權利。此外，雖然登記冊包含了持有10%或以上股份的所有股東的詳細信息，但持有該實體25%以下股份的受益所有人的信息將不會被披露。
評論截止日期為2025年2月28日。政府特別關注有關「合法利益」的擬議定義以及保護高風險個人的條款的反饋。
BVI publishes draft rules for right to access beneficial ownership register
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.
Sources:
• BVI government
• BVI Finance
• BVI FSC (FAQs, PDF)
• STEP International News 16 December 2024: BVI to launch beneficial ownership register in 2025