Caribbean

BVI Remains on Money-Laundering Grey List Despite Progress, With FATF Demanding More Investigations and Seizures

The British Virgin Islands remains under increased international monitoring for money laundering and other financial crime risks, despite making progress in corporate ownership transparency, suspicious transaction reporting and law-enforcement capacity, according to a new assessment by the Financial Action Task Force. In its October 30 assessment, issued following a plenary meeting in Paris, the international financial watchdog retained the BVI on its so-called grey list, identifying outstanding weaknesses in oversight of financial businesses, money-laundering investigations, criminal prosecutions and the seizure of illicit proceeds. The decision comes more than 16 months after the British overseas territory was placed under increased monitoring in June 2025. While the FATF removed Bulgaria, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Monaco from the grey list following its October meeting, the BVI was among the jurisdictions required to continue implementing corrective m...