International Business Companies Act

Partners at Harneys made up 3 of the original 5 draftsmen of the Act.

The International Business Companies Act, 1984[1] was a statute of the British Virgin Islands which permitted the incorporation of International Business Companies (IBCs) within the Territory. The Act played in a huge role in the economic and financial development of the Territory in the 1990s. It has been called "the most important piece of legislation in BVI history since the emancipation".[2]

The original Act was copied widely by other offshore financial centres.[3]

  1. ^ Chapter 291 of the Revised Laws of the Virgin Islands, 1991
  2. ^ "A tough Act to follow – looking back at the birth of the BVI's groundbreaking International Business Companies Act". Legal Week. 2 May 2014.
  3. ^ The International Business Companies Acts of Anguilla[1] Archived 6 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine, The Bahamas[2] and Belize[3] Archived 27 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine are almost word-for-word copies of the British Virgin Islands model. St Vincent and the Grenadines also enacted legislation which is strikingly similar.[4]