21 Facts About British Virgin Islands

1.

British Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke, along with more than 50 other smaller islands and cays.

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2.

The British Virgin Islands introduced sugar cane which was to become the main crop and source of foreign trade, and large numbers of slaves were forcibly brought from Africa to work on the sugar cane plantations.

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3.

British Virgin Islands were administered variously as part of the British Leeward Islands or with St Kitts and Nevis, with an administrator representing the British Government on the islands.

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4.

The British Virgin Islands contain the Leeward Islands moist forests and Leeward Islands xeric scrub terrestrial ecoregions.

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5.

British Virgin Islands have a tropical rainforest climate, moderated by trade winds.

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6.

British Virgin Islands did confirm that HMS Ocean had departed for the BVI carrying items like timber, buckets, bottled water, food, baby milk, bedding and clothing, as well as ten pickup trucks, building materials and hardware.

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7.

Ultimate executive authority in the British Virgin Islands is vested in the King, and is exercised on his behalf by the Governor of the British Virgin Islands.

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8.

On 8 June 2022, the British Government decided against direct rule for the islands.

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9.

British and US Virgin Islands sit at the axis of a major drugs transshipment point between Latin America and the continental United States.

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10.

The British Virgin Islands is a significant global player in the offshore financial services industry.

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11.

Since 2001, financial services in the British Virgin Islands have been regulated by the independent Financial Services Commission.

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12.

Caribbean QCs and British QCs preside over the majority of important cases and the laws of the Virgin Islands are based on English laws, meaning the jurisdiction provides clarity and consistency should parties require commercial disputes to be resolved.

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13.

In May 2022, the banking sector of the British Virgin Islands comprised seven commercial banks and one restricted bank, 12 authorised custodians, two licensed money services businesses and one licensed financing service provider.

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14.

Successive governments in the British Virgin Islands have fought against the propaganda and implemented tax exchange agreements and verified beneficial ownership information of companies following the 2013 G8 summit putting their governance and regulatory regimes far ahead of many "onshore" jurisdictions.

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15.

On 30 June 2014, The British Virgin Islands was deemed to have an Inter- Governmental Agreement with the United States of America with respect to the "Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act" of the United States of America.

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16.

Letter of Entrustment dated 14 July 2010 was originally provided to the Government of the British Virgin Islands and authorised the Government of the BVI "to negotiate and conclude Agreements relating to taxation that provide for exchange of information on tax matters to the OECD standard" .

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17.

Under the UK Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2018, beneficial ownership of companies in British overseas territories such as the British Virgin Islands must be publicly registered for disclosure by 31 December 2020.

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18.

The British Virgin Islands has met challenges in recruiting sufficient numbers in recent years, having been affected by hurricanes Irma and Maria, and having continued to lag behind other jurisdictions in providing a reliable permanent residence regime.

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19.

Cars in the British Virgin Islands drive on the left just as they do in the United Kingdom and the United States Virgin Islands.

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20.

British Virgin Islands operates several government schools as well as private schools.

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21.

Traditional music of the British Virgin Islands is called fungi after the local cornmeal dish with the same name, often made with okra.

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