Panama Papers spark UK-BVI agreement

THE MOSSACK FONSECA revelations  have prompted the signing of a a bilateral agreement between the  British Virgin Islands (BVI) and the United Kingdom share information about companies and their beneficiaries registered in both jurisdictions.

Information, according to the commitment, must be stored on a secure server that allows authorities to have access to the information if required. This system must be implemented before June 30 next year.

The data, according to the agreement, must be delivered to the requesting jurisdiction within a period of less than 24 hours. However, if the requirement is made with “urgency,” the information must be delivered in less than an hour.

“The commitment between the governments of the United Kingdom and the British Virgin Islands is an important demonstration of an association dedicated to improving the effectiveness of the legal cooperation on information society,” said the document.

The agreement comes after both jurisdictions, although mainly the British Virgin Islands, were questioned for their involvement in an overall investigation led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) about alleged irregularities into thePanama  law firm Mossack Fonseca. The firm had offices in both the BVI and the UK.

British Prime Minister David Cameron was part of these investigations because his father was a client of the firm.

The revelation led to demonstrations in the streets of London, where protesters called for  Cameron’s resignation but  the British Parliament did not open any type of investigation.