Lawyers highlight barriers in tax haven

Banks in the British Virgin Islands are making it more difficulty for new accounts to be opened after a rise in reports of suspicious transactions relating to the Caribbean tax haven.

Difficulties in opening bank accounts are seen to have helped business, including an increase in new incorporations, in the Seychelles and Samoa. Christopher Bickley, partner in Conyers Dill & Pearman in the British Virgin Islands, told the Financial Times that some banks were making it ’tortuous’ to open an account with them

Hong Kong link

HSBC and Standard Chartered are being mentioned as two banks which are making it harder to open accounts. Michael Gagie, partner in Maples and Calder, a firm that specialises in British Virgin Islands law, links events in the islands to a ‘little bit of a shake-up’ in Hong Kong where tougher banking compliance standards have been introduced. Hong Kong is believed to be putting pressure on banks to be much more careful about letting new accounts be opened in British Virgin Islands. Source: Financial Times