BRITAIN WANTS to impose direct rule on the British Virgin Islands to protect over a trillion pounds stashed away in the tax haven, according to BVI residents.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is still considering taking over the Caribbean nation, even though BVI’s parliament has removed the pretext for Britain to intervene after a new island government was agreed.

BVI, which was revealed as the top spot in the world for the wealthy to hoard billions in the ‘Panama Papers’, is self-governing but relies on Britain for defence and security.

But islanders say neither defence nor security is under threat after BVI established a new government following the arrest of its former premier, Andrew Fahie, in Miami, Florida, following a drug sting operation.

A 2019 report by Bloomberg, said the BVI is home to more than 400,000 companies that hold $1.5 trillion in assets, despite only having a population of 30,000 people. 

Former BVI civil servant Amberly Crabbe, who worked for the International Affairs Secretariat later the Immigration Department, The Voice warned any plans of “going back to the colonial days” will not go down well.

“We had one of the first known freed plantations in the entire Western Hemisphere here coming out of  the Virgin Islands and we don’t sit by and accept things very lightly. 

“We have built this country and it is very unfair that after we built it, you decide to come back and now take it over.”

She believes the enormous wealth stored on the island is the real reason why Britain is determined to rule the territory, and not because there is a lack of good governance. 

“Our issues come from things that the UK are responsible for, ultimately. The thing that we have direct control and responsibility for is our financial services product and that is intact.

“But what you are trying to do is go after that in the name of good governance.” 

Crabbe, now an entrepreneur, added: “If you look at the UK, they have their own problems and no one is calling for the suspension of their constitution and no one is calling for a dismantlement of their democracy.

“So why is it even being a suggestion or a recommendation for us?” she asked.

There is widespread concern in the island that the UK government-appointed head of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Fahie affair, British judge Sir Gary Hickenbottom, made “sweeping generalisations” about the territory.

Crabbe said: “We have been mobilising the people on the ground to voice their concerns about the recommendations coming out of the CoI – specifically A1 which deals with the suspension of our constitution. 

“We are completely against that and I don’t think that decision will be received very well, whether locally or in the region.”

The Foreign Secretary’s office told The Voice it will make an announcement on the next steps needed to improve governance in the BVI, with the Governor, in due course.

However, Crabbe said if Britain pressed ahead with its plans, there would be resistance not only in BVI but across the Caribbean after a number of Caribbean nations have reached out to activists in BVI.

She believes the current pro-republic and anti-colonial movement sweeping the region is also influencing the support being offered to her country from its Caribbean neighbours. 

“The view is, you’re going to start with the Virgin Islands, but it is only a matter of time before it affects all of us,” she said. 

The new Government of National Unity, is made up of the three major political parties in the BVI, who have joined forces to rectify governance issues identified in the CoI. 

The newly formed leadership has rejected direct rule and has now appointed a new leader, Dr Natalio Wheatley, who said “reform remains a top priority for my administration.”  

There have been protests on the island against the prospect of Britain taking over the BVI, with islanders carrying placards condemning colonial attitudes.

Bishop John Cline, a senior pastor at New Life Baptist Church in the BVI, told The Voice many people in the territory believe this move by the UK is down to financial reasons. 

Speaking to The Voice, he said: “In 2018, we organised a demonstration against the Beneficial Ownership Register being made public as it had not been a global standard anywhere else. 

“We said to the UK then, we will comply with the public register of our financial services when it is a global standard.”

Bishop Cline claims the UK asked for “control of financial services” before and said any efforts whether they are  “direct or indirect” towards the BVI were all about money. 

“The UK is fully aware of the contribution the financial services make to our national budget, one can only conclude at best wonder, why they are taking these positions and they do not make those demands or requests of the Channel Islands or they don’t do it with Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man – that will lead me to conclude they are after the financial services,” he added.

Bishop Cline branded the plans as “the old colonial mindset of the British”. 

The BVI Financial Services Commission is the Territory’s single regulatory authority for financial services business. The Commission authorises and licences entities and persons to conduct financial services business in compliance with relevant BVI legislation. 

According to a statement released by BVI’s Financial Service Commission: “The CoI, whose report has just been published, has described the Commission as “an example of statutory board which has policies in place to promote good governance” and consequently did not see the “need to call for oral evidence on” its activities.”