By Admin. Updated 2:23 p.m., Saturday, August 29, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
Opposition Leader Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is warning that proposed changes to St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Companies Act could have implications for the country’s international financial-regulatory standing, particularly in relation to beneficial ownership transparency and compliance with global anti-money laundering standards.
Gonsalves raised the concern during Thursday’s parliamentary debate on the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2026, arguing that the removal of certain registration requirements for external companies could weaken an important layer of oversight of corporate ownership structures.
His warning comes against the backdrop of SVG’s obligations under the international framework for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, including assessments conducted through the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), the regional body affiliated with the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Focus on Section 338E
At the centre of Gonsalves’ concern is the proposed repeal of Section 338E of the Companies Act.
The provision, introduced through amendments in 2016, deals with circumstances in which affiliated external companies are connected to ownership structures involving companies registered in SVG.
Gonsalves argued that the requirement provides authorities with greater visibility into complex corporate arrangements and warned that removing it could have consequences beyond the immediate administrative burden faced by companies.
“The Prime Minister… must answer why his government is removing indirect ownership of land in our country through a corporate structure as a basis for requiring an external company to register in SVG,” he said.
Gonsalves contended that the proposed change could make it more difficult for regulators to establish who ultimately owns or controls assets through layers of corporate entities.
CFATF report cited
Gonsalves specifically referred Parliament to the January 2024 CFATF Mutual Evaluation Report on St Vincent and the Grenadines.
He argued that the country’s existing assessment in areas relating to beneficial ownership transparency makes any reduction in corporate oversight particularly significant.
“Given the fact that the mutual evaluation report has already flagged SVG, this will doubly flag it,” Gonsalves warned.
His argument is that the issue should therefore not be considered solely as a question of whether companies face excessive administrative requirements.
Rather, he suggested that Parliament must also consider whether changes to the registration framework could affect the country’s ability to demonstrate effective ownership transparency and enforcement to international assessors.
Government rejects suggestion of weakened safeguards
Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday, who moved the Companies (Amendment) Bill, presented a different rationale for the proposed changes.
Friday argued that the Government was not seeking to weaken enforcement or compromise SVG’s reputation as a jurisdiction in which legitimate business can be conducted.
“We are seeking to make our space business-friendly in any way, every way we can legally do, while at the same time protecting the interests of St Vincent and the Grenadines as a destination to do business,” Friday told Parliament.
The Prime Minister said the Government remained committed to vigilant enforcement while seeking to remove regulatory requirements that had, in his view, become unnecessarily burdensome.
He described the legislation as an effort to correct problems that had emerged following the 2016 amendments, particularly in relation to external companies.
Investment versus oversight
Friday has argued that SVG must become more competitive in attracting both domestic and foreign investment, particularly given the Government’s fiscal constraints and the need to expand productive economic activity.
He said the existing framework had created administrative burdens that could discourage foreign investors from using external companies as vehicles for doing business or owning property in SVG.
Gonsalves’ concern is that the pursuit of a more business-friendly environment should not come at the expense of mechanisms designed to provide transparency over corporate ownership.
That places the Companies Bill within a broader policy debate facing many small international financial centres: how to remain attractive to legitimate investors while maintaining the regulatory safeguards demanded by international bodies.
Why the warning matters
CFATF mutual evaluations examine the effectiveness of countries’ legal and institutional frameworks for preventing and addressing money laundering, terrorist financing and related financial crimes.
Beneficial ownership transparency is an important component of that framework because authorities must be able to identify the natural persons who ultimately own or control companies and other legal arrangements.
Gonsalves’ warning is therefore that Parliament should consider not only the domestic economic consequences of reducing registration requirements, but also how those changes could be viewed by international assessors.
The Government, for its part, maintains that the proposed amendments are intended to remove excessive administrative burdens while preserving the country’s regulatory safeguards.
A question beyond the Bill
The parliamentary disagreement ultimately raises a question that extends beyond the specific provisions of the Companies (Amendment) Bill: how does SVG balance the need to attract investment with the need to maintain the level of transparency and regulatory effectiveness expected of an internationally connected financial jurisdiction?
For Gonsalves, the proposed changes warrant caution because of what he sees as the potential implications for ownership transparency and international scrutiny.
For Friday, the greater risk is allowing an unnecessarily burdensome regulatory framework to discourage legitimate investment and economic activity.
The debate therefore leaves Parliament with two competing considerations, the competitiveness of SVG’s business environment and the strength of its regulatory safeguards, both of which carry implications for the country’s economic future and international reputation.
The bill was read a third time and passed. Once it receives the Governor General’s assent the amendments it has made will be statutory law. It will be the Companies Amendment Act 2026.
After the debate and vote on the bill, Parliament was adjourned to Tuesday, 6th October at 10:00 a.m.
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