Crime

Commission of Inquiry Report Calls For BVI to Lose Autonomy and Be Governed Directly by Britain For at Least Two Years

Before the shocking news of the arrest of Andrew Fahie reverberated around the territory on Thursday, arguably the most talked-about subject in the British Virgin Islands was the recently concluded Commission of Inquiry and the 946-page report it submitted to BVI Governor John Rankin at the beginning of this month. In a press conference Friday, Rankin said that he’d initially intended to publish the report in June, but that the arrests of the premier and the head of the territory’s Port Authority had made an overwhelming public interest case for releasing the report immediately.  “This, I believe, will help to end speculation that the arrests which occurred in Miami are somehow linked to the COI report. The COI was not a criminal investigation into the illegal drugs trade,” Governor Rankin explained. What the report does cover, the governor summarized, was the failure of many members of Parliament to register their interests as required by law, irregularities in the distribution of ...