British Virgin Islands

Overview

The BVI has a VASP regime administered by its Financial Services Commission, sitting on top of a company law that international counsel have used for decades and that courts elsewhere understand.

What it is good for

Token issuance vehicles, holding companies above an operating entity, and structures where investors expect a familiar offshore company law.

What it is not good for

Banking. A BVI entity on its own is difficult to bank, and the difficulty has increased rather than decreased. Structures that assume a BVI company will hold operating accounts usually need rebuilding.

How it fits with the UAE

As a layer, not a substitute. A BVI company can sit above a UAE-licensed operating entity or hold a token project's intellectual property. It cannot carry on regulated activity in the UAE.

How we help

We advise on market access before a sales team is pointed at a country, document the basis on which clients in each market are accepted or refused, and build the controls that make that basis hold. Where a second licence is genuinely needed, we run it.