MPs write to premier over BVI proposals for new register of who owns firms registered on islands

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) have been accused of a “shameful” attempt to avoid a crackdown on financial crime, in a growing rift with the government that threatens to escalate into a constitutional standoff.

MPs have written to the premier of the BVI, while the former development minister Andrew Mitchell fired a broadside at the islands’ leadership, over their proposals for a new register of who owns companies registered on the islands.