When Governor Daniel Pruce cleared his throat, the hundreds of residents gathered in Queen Elizabeth II Park fell silent.
For the territory’s third iteration of King Charles III’s Birthday Parade and Celebration, the governor had just finished inspecting uniformed groups, and it was time for him to read his traditional exchange of messages with the monarch.
“May it please Your Majesty with humble duty on behalf of all his loyal subjects in the Virgin Islands, I am delighted to convey our warmest wishes and celebratory greetings on the occasion of Your Majesty’s birthday,” Mr. Pruce read.
Then he read the king’s response.
“I am so very grateful to you for sending such a generous and thoughtful message on the occasion of my official birthday,” Mr. Pruce said, reading the king’s words. “It was most considerate of you to take the time to write, and your kind words are enormously appreciated. In return, I extend my warmest good wishes to you and to the people of the British Virgin Islands.”
Two celebrations
Like his late mother Queen Elizabeth II, the king, who is 76, celebrates his birthday twice each year, with an official ceremony in June and a private one on his actual birthday on Nov. 14.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, the event was also marked in London by the Trooping the Colour ceremony, though the United Kingdom doesn’t observe a public holiday for the occasion as the VI does.
Here, the celebration got under way in the morning when a procession of uniformed groups marched from Sir Olva Georges Plaza to the park.
There, they regrouped according to their organisations, a row of tents keeping them out of the sun.
Among the civic and service organisations under the tents were “As far as RISA itself is concerned, we will continue to inform and update our members about macro and micro factors arising from international risk assessments, although we are of the view that our members, with their expertise, are uniquely qualified to assist any stakeholder who may be impacted,” it stated.
Transparent criteria
In contrast to their response to previous international sanctions, VI officials struck a markedly different tone regarding the FATF decision.
In the past, the government has criticised such actions as unfair or arbitrary — including a 2023 decision that placed the territory on the European Union’s blacklist of “non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes” for eight months.
During Monday’s press briefing, government officials acknowledged the consistency and clarity of the FATF’s process.
“The FATF has very clear and transparent standards which all countries must adhere to, so there’s no deviation in terms of the process which a jurisdiction goes through,” Ms. Donovan said, adding, “This is the standard, and all jurisdictions must meet the standard.”
Because the FATF’s criteria are clear, Ms. Donovan and other officials said the grey-listing came as no surprise.
However, they added that FATF protocols prohibited them from publicly speculating on the decision in advance.
Ultimately, the officials said the territory is well positioned to complete the reforms within a two-year period as planned.
“We don’t see any impediment for us to address those, and it’s expected that many of them we will achieve before the deadline,” Mr. Malone said. “So we’re full speed ahead with that.”
No comment
Several financial services industry groups did not immediately respond to Beacon requests for comment on the grey-listing.
They include the Association of Registered Agents, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the BVI Investment Funds Association, and the BVI Association of Compliance Officers.
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