Politically Exposed Person Lawyer certification + BVI?

[Campeador]

Has anyone ever been requested to provide a letter of confirmation from a lawyer stating that they are not a Politically Exposed Person? Recently started incorporation in the BVI and, apparently, the registry (or the agent?) is demanding this.

I'm not a PEP even remotely and I find this request odd. So far I had always seen self-declaration forms.

Where can I even find a lawyer for this? I don't think anyone in their right mind will put their signature to certify for real if an unknown third party is or isn't PEP.

 

[Gediminas]

Campeador said:
Has anyone ever been requested to provide a letter of confirmation from a lawyer stating that they are not a Politically Exposed Person? Recently started incorporation in the BVI and, apparently, the registry (or the agent?) is demanding this.

I'm not a PEP even remotely and I find this request odd. So far I had always seen self-declaration forms.

Where can I even find a lawyer for this? I don't think anyone in their right mind will put their signature to certify for real if an unknown third party is or isn't PEP.
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I never had this kind of trouble in my experience. Your name might be raising some flags in a worldcheck. Maybe not.

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[aage]

Yes the BVI, they are so afraid of setting up new entities that they are shitting in their pants and asking for an outrageous number of documents.

Who the f.... is going to setup a company in the BVI these days? What is the benefit if you don't mind?

You can get this document from your local lawyer or authority office in your country.

 

[Campeador]

aage said:
Yes the BVI, they are so afraid of setting up new entities that they are shitting in their pants and asking for an outrageous number of documents.

Who the f.... is going to setup a company in the BVI these days? What is the benefit if you don't mind?

You can get this document from your local lawyer or authority office in your country.
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The reason for choosing BVI was 0% tax plus it already going through changes to adapt to recent regulations + the option to bank in Singapore with it. I'm personally a resident in a country with territorial tax system, so I can operate BVI while remaining compliant.

I also considered Seychelles, both seemed similar. If you have better alternatives I'd be more than happy to hear.

 

[Campeador]

Gediminas said:
I never had this kind of trouble in my experience. Your name might be raising some flags in a worldcheck. Maybe not.
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That's what I thought too, I reached out to Refinitiv and they confirmed there's nothing on me. I'm definitely not a PEP and I can't think of any reason to be in any other database.

 

[aage]

Campeador said:
I also considered Seychelles, both seemed similar. If you have better alternatives I'd be more than happy to hear.
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Seychelles is way easier to incorporate your business compared to BVI which I totally gave up already with the initial e-mail I got with 1 GB documents attached, and a comment, please complete.

 

[James Turner]

It is very unusual to be asked for this. In reality providers and registries etc are responsible for ensuring that you are or are not a PEP. This should be done by carrying our searches via WorldCheck/Accuity etc where a negative result is obtained. If there is any confusion i.e. similar named individuals with same date of birth which is extremely unusual then further investigation is needed. Even though you are not a PEP, being one should not prevent you from setting up a company, it simply means they have to be more diligent when dealing with you. Getting a letter from a Solicitor sounds to me like they are just covering themselves and creating paperwork for the sake of it in case you are ever looked at and they are asked to prove they did their job.

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[Joe Blasco]

James Turner said:
It is very unusual to be asked for this. In reality providers and registries etc are responsible for ensuring that you are or are not a PEP. This should be done by carrying our searches via WorldCheck/Accuity etc where a negative result is obtained. If there is any confusion i.e. similar named individuals with same date of birth which is extremely unusual then further investigation is needed. Even though you are not a PEP, being one should not prevent you from setting up a company, it simply means they have to be more diligent when dealing with you. Getting a letter from a Solicitor sounds to me like they are just covering themselves and creating paperwork for the sake of it in case you are ever looked at and they are asked to prove they did their job.
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exactly it 's for laughs, they want a piece of paper to cover themselves which if properly done will cost you $$$ . Forget them, find another jurisdiction....

 

[Campeador]

I brought up with the services provider some of the points mentioned here. I said they should have their own tools to verify if I am a PEP or not. I also remarked that according to Refinitiv/WorldCheck I am not included in ANY reports. They offer this free self-check service here OneTrust | Privacy Management Software

What the services provider is saying now:

"We are also aware that there is no record related to your name, but offshore jurisdictions will require this letter. We also tried to convince the registrar that you do not involve to PEP or any administrative offenses. However, they require this letter for the compliance check process as your name is matched with other people and this is in order to confirm that the person which they found hit on is not the same person."

According to them, the same will happen with Seychelles... but not with Hong Kong, which they suggested as an alternative lol. At this point I'm not sure if this is a pile of crap and I should try and get a refund from them or if I should just get the letter and be done with it. It will take some time and money but it's obtainable.

 

[tevalerie]

Campeador said:
Has anyone ever been requested to provide a letter of confirmation from a lawyer stating that they are not a Politically Exposed Person? Recently started incorporation in the BVI and, apparently, the registry (or the agent?) is demanding this.

I'm not a PEP even remotely and I find this request odd. So far I had always seen self-declaration forms.

Where can I even find a lawyer for this? I don't think anyone in their right mind will put their signature to certify for real if an unknown third party is or isn't PEP.
Click to expand...

Its the new norm i am afraid.