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Financial Sanctions and Embargoes in U.S. Virgin Islands: What You Need to Know

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) has a comprehensive sanctions regime in place, designed to achieve specific foreign policy or national security objectives. These prohibitions can include financial sanctions, trade sanctions, and immigration sanctions.

What are Financial Sanctions?

According to Harneys, a leading international offshore law firm, financial sanctions are imposed on entities, individuals, or regimes to:

  • Coerce
  • Constrain
  • Signal disapproval
  • Protect assets that have been misappropriated from a country

Who is Affected by Financial Sanctions in the BVI?

In the BVI, financial sanctions apply to anyone who is:

  • A British citizen
  • A British Overseas Territories citizen
  • A British subject
  • A British National (Overseas)
  • A British protected person who is ordinarily resident in the territory
  • Any person on board a ship or aircraft registered in the BVI

Compliance with Financial Sanctions

Ensuring compliance with these sanctions rests with financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professional organizations supervised by:

  • The BVI Financial Services Commission
  • The BVI Financial Investigation Agency, respectively.

To comply with these sanctions, all relevant persons should have in place:

  • Risk-based mechanisms to assess customers and business relationships
  • Policies and procedures to identify and prevent violations

Consequences of Non-Compliance

Failure to comply can result in criminal offenses, including circumventing the sanctions regime. Individuals are also advised to:

  • Familiarize themselves with the targeted financial sanctions consolidated list
  • Make necessary applications for licenses
  • Stay up-to-date with financial sanctions notices
  • Follow guidance from the UK

Additional Resources

For more information on financial sanctions and embargoes in the U.S. Virgin Islands, please visit Harneys.com or contact us at marketing@harneys.com.